Ming Chan is the chief of the Bureau of Laboratories at the Florida Department of Health.
WHAT ARE YOUR DUTIES?
“As chief, I am responsible for all laboratory activities for the state under the Department of Health. It’s like a mini-center for disease control and prevention. Basically, I administrate the whole system. Each state has a public health lab. This one represents Florida. This location is also the Office of Vital Statistics. That’s where all the birth records, death records, marriage and adoption are located. It dates back to the 1800s.”
WHAT GOES ON IN THE LAB?
“What we do is testing for infectious disease, communicable disease, microbiological and chemical testing for water quality and test for contaminants in the environment that affect health.”
WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE YOU WERE CHIEF?
“I was the assistant chief for 20 years and prior to that, I was chief of chemistry.”
HOW DID YOU GET ON WITH THE DEPARTMENT?
“My family knew [former City Council member and state senator] Joe Carlucci. I went to see him and he called the former director and asked if there was any opening for me. That’s how I got on board.”
FACTOID
“All babies born in Florida must have certain genetic and metabolic tests. Blood is collected before they’re discharged from the hospital. The doctor is notified if we find any abnormalities.”
BORN
Hong Kong.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO AMERICA?
“I came to this country to get my doctorate degree. I came to Jacksonville because my wife was born in Jacksonville. When we were expecting our first child, we came back to the in-laws.”
EDUCATION
Chemistry was Chan’s major at both the University of South Bank in London and Polytechnic University in New York City.
WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF YOUR JOB?
“The thing I really like is there is never a dull moment. There is always a challenge like personnel issues or an outbreak.”
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU?
“When an incident happens, we must quickly come up with some means of giving the program office data and also to give reliable results in a timely manner so we don’t create mass hysteria. The big challenge last year was anthrax, but previous to that it was the Tylenol product tampering. We had to quickly come up with methods of testing lots of samples that came in to us.”
AFFILIATIONS
Chan is on the board of the Clara White Mission and part of SHADCO — the Sheriff’s Advisory Council, Sector B.
FAMILY
The Southside is home to Chan, his wife Phyllis and their son Mark. Their oldest son, Dennis, lives in Winter Park. “My wife’s maiden name is Eng. Her mother is from China.” Fifteen years ago, Chan’s wife and her brother opened a restaurant called Little Dragon at 16th and Main streets. They sold the business about seven years ago.
GREEN THUMB
Piddling around in his yard trying to grow vegetables is his way to relax from his seven-day-a-week job. Chan’s garden at one time produced a 50-pound squash.
PERSONAL PREFERENCES
Chan enjoys light-hearted comedies such as “Taxi” or “Barney Miller.” Detective stories, James Bond films and Southern country cooking get his vote, too. Multilingual, Chan has seen “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
WHO’S YOUR HERO?
“[Former president] Ronald Reagan because I think he’s a very good communicator. He can always bring it down to the level where you can understand. Because I’m not a very good communicator, I admire those that can communicate real good, particularly in a complex situation.”
— by Monica Chamness