Stephen G. Hall
| Stephen G. Hall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Danbury, CT, USA |
| Education | Ph.D., Purdue University |
| Occupation | Scientist, Martial Artist |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 230 pounds (100 kg) |
Stephen G. Hall is an American scientist and athlete.
Personal Life
Stephen G. Hall was born October 2 in Danbury, Connecticut in the United States. His parents divorced when he was around 5 years old, and his mother moved with the children to Decatur, Georgia. His mother was a schoolteacher and subsequently moved the family to rural Bethany, Kentucky, where she taught for a number of years. The family finally settled in Phoenix, Arizona where he attended Sunnyslope High School.
Military Service
He served in the US Army and Army National Guard as a section chief in charge of tactical conventional weapons and unconventional weapons. He was part of a special operations weapons team trained using chemical weapons, tactical nuclear weapons, nuclear artillery and the enhanced radiation weapon. He is an expert in CBRNE agents and defense, focusing on bioweapons and biodefense and remained active in scientific and technical intelligence after leaving the military.
Scientific Career
He completed his B.S. in Chemistry from Grand Canyon University in 1990 and earned a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Molecular Biosciences from Purdue University in 1995. He completed postdoctoral research in Molecular & Structural Biology at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in 1997.
Hall investigated the structure and function of viruses and developed structure-function relationships based on structure, genotype, and phenotype. He studied molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis in order to develop effective antiviral drugs and vaccines.
He developed a vaccine and gene therapy technology at TSRI, which resulted in novel vaccines for a number of diseases including human respiratory syncytial virus, Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, SARS-CoV, West Nile Virus, Plague, Ebola virus, Anthrax and other biodefense-related pathogens. U.S. Patent 6,171,591.
After leaving TSRI, he founded several companies and among other areas of research, is continuing classified research in CBRN defense and select agents as a principal in a private scientific intelligence agency.
Athletic Career
He is co-owner of a martial arts and athletic training facility that is home to nationally-ranked mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters and owns a CrossFit gym at the same location. As a powerlifter, he performed multiple reps of bench press with 455 lbs, 545 lb deadlift and 225 lb standing biceps curl as a senior athlete. Hall is an expert in combatives, Krav Maga, kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is considered pound-for-pound one of the strongest fighters in any age bracket. He competes as a heavyweight in submission grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was ranked 5th in the United States in 2012 out of about 5,000 fighters in his age division. He has not competed in 2013 due to a detached retina that occurred during training; however he is expected to compete again in early 2014.