Dr. Abigail Fish
Assistant Director of Research Safety
Phone: 225-578-4658
Abigail Fish serves as the Assistant Director of Research Safety for the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) at Louisiana State University. The Assistant Director of Research Safety oversees the research safety programs in support of the general laboratory, chemical, and biological safety programs. These duties include monitoring emerging requirements and developing compliance plans as necessary for the University, maintaining records to satisfy Federal, State, and Local regulations, and overseeing a team of specialized safety professionals. She is also secretary and protocol manager for the Institutional Biosafety Committee and the lead biological safety officer for the biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) program in support of high containment research. Previously Dr. Fish served as the Biological Safety Manager where she oversaw the EHS consultation and laboratory inspection program in support of the biological safety program. In addition, she provides support to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) by serving as a liaison between IBRDSC and IACUC.
Dr. Fish received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biological Science from Louisiana State University. She went on to pursue a doctoral degree in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine under the advisement of Dr. Juan Martinez. Her research focused on characterizing the interaction of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsial Species, specifically Rickettsia conorii and R. rickettsii, with components of the innate immune system. Her dissertation entitled, “Characterization of the Interaction Between R. conorii and Human Host Vitronectin in Rickettsial Pathogenesis” can be found online in LSU’s digital commons. After graduation, she served as the Lab Manager and Post-Doctoral Researcher in the lab of Dr. Deepak Kaushal. She utilized the non-human primate model of infection to study Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Simian Immunodeficiency virus co-infection on latent TB reactivation.