Categories newsmakers | 1980sPosted on

Benjamin Fontes ’86

Benjamin Fontes ’86, the biosafety officer at Yale University, is president-elect of the American Biological Safety Association. Fontes, who manages operational safety in all three spheres of biohazards—those from biological, chemical, and radiation sources—credits much of his expertise and interest in the field to Gladys Caspar P’85, who, as his mentor when he began his career at Harvard—affiliated labs and hospitals in Boston, encouraged critical thinking. “In biosafety, there’s very little black-and-white,” he says. “In addition to frequent updates in the pathogens studied, there’s always a new piece of equipment that arrives in a lab—and you have to understand not only how it works when it”s used properly, but also what could go wrong.” As president-elect, Fontes looks forward to increasing opportunities to develop collegial relationships internationally. He was a biology major at Wesleyan and earned his MPH from the University of Michigan.
Benjamin Fontes ’86, the biosafety officer at Yale University, is president-elect of the American Biological Safety Association. Fontes, who manages operational safety in all three spheres of biohazards—those from biological, chemical, and radiation sources—credits much of his expertise and interest in the field to Gladys Caspar P’85, who, as his mentor when he began his career at Harvard—affiliated labs and hospitals in Boston, encouraged critical thinking. “In biosafety, there’s very little black-and-white,” he says. “In addition to frequent updates in the pathogens studied, there’s always a new piece of equipment that arrives in a lab—and you have to understand not only how it works when it”s used properly, but also what could go wrong.” As president-elect, Fontes looks forward to increasing opportunities to develop collegial relationships internationally. He was a biology major at Wesleyan and earned his MPH from the University of Michigan.