NDSLJAX Leadership

Commanding Officer

CDR Hak Auth, Ph.D., USN
 

CDR Hak Auth
Medical Service Corps

CDR Hak Auth is a native of Monterey Park, CA and graduated from Mark Keppel High School in 1996.  In 2000, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry.  In 2008, he received a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  CDR Auth was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps in September 2008 and completed Officer Development School in Newport, RI, in November 2008.
 
In November 2008, CDR Auth reported directly to his first duty station, Navy Drug Screening Laboratory (NDSL), Jacksonville, FL.  He served as Deputy Director for Operations, overseeing numerous technical departments and serving as a certified Expert Witness in support of administrative and legal proceedings.
 
In May 2012, CDR Auth transferred to Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit (NEPMU) FIVE, San Diego, CA.  At NEPMU FIVE, he served as the Department Head of Education and Training and as the Biochemist / Chemical & Radiological Component Lead for Forward Deployed Preventive Medicine Units FOUR and FIVE.  In July 2017, he transferred to NDSL San Diego and served as the Director for Operations and Technical Director, overseeing five distinct departments and all technical drug testing operations.  In August 2018, CDR Auth was slated as Executive Officer, NDSL Great Lakes, followed by a fleeted-up to Commanding Officer where he oversaw the largest DoD drug testing laboratory with 1.4M specimens tested annually and 6K customer Navy, Marine Corps, and Army units worldwide.  
 
In August 2020, CDR Auth transferred to the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center and served as the Department of the Navy Drug Testing Program Manager and as the Director of Laboratory Services, responsible for oversight of four field activities:  Naval Dosimetry Center, Navy Bloodborne Infection Management Center, and two Navy Drug Screening Laboratories.  He managed $35 million budget and ensured the delivery of HIV testing, dosimetry processing, and forensic drug testing and consultation for all Naval commands worldwide.  He additionally managed $15 million of Other Procurement Funds and collaborated with Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command to provide all six DoD forensic laboratories with contract support for equipment purchases, maintenance, and non-personnel services.   
 
In June 2022, CDR Auth was slated for his third Executive Medicine tour, at NDSL Jacksonville as its Commanding Officer.   He oversaw the DoD's drug testing method development and instruments evaluation center, spread-headed the development of rapid screening method for eight novel synthetic cannabinoids and the active metabolite of “magic mushroom” psilocin, and development an oral fluid testing method.  CDR Auth’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards) and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards).
 

Executive Officer

CDR Katherine V. Dozier, Ph.D., USN
 

CDR Katherine Dozier 
Medical Service Corps
Commander Katherine Dozier is a native of Petrolia, TX.  In 2004, she graduated from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry.  In 2009, she received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.  CDR Dozier was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps in November 2010 and completed Officer Development School in Newport, RI in April 2011.
 
In April 2011, CDR Dozier reported directly to her first duty station, the US Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland, where she taught courses in chemistry, biology, and biological and chemical warfare agents.  In August 2014, CDR Dozier reported to the Navy Drug Screening Laboratory (NDSL), San Diego.  While at NDSL, San Diego, she served as the Deputy Director for Operations over Initial Screening, then as the deputy Senior Officer.  She was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in September 2017.
 
In October 2017, CDR Dozier was assigned to the Defense Health Agency Detachment - Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES), Division of Forensic Toxicology, Dover, Delaware, where she served as Chief, Special Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory (SFTDTL) and a Forensic Toxicologist for the Human Performance/Postmortem Laboratory (HP/PM).  In February 2020, she filled the mission critical billet of Financial Administrative Officer, overseeing budget, contracting, and government purchase card programs.  In October 2020, CDR Dozier was selected to serve as Deputy Director, Division of Forensic Toxicology, and was subsequently named Director in March 2021.  In June 2022, CDR Dozier was slated for her first Executive Medicine tour as the Executive Officer of Navy Drug Screening Laboratory, Jacksonville.  She oversaw the DoD’s second-largest drug testing forensic toxicology laboratory, and the method development and instrument evaluation center. 
 
CDR Dozier’s military awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal (1), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2), Joint Service Achievement Medal (1), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (1). 
 
CDR Dozier is certified as a Fellow by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and is the only Active Duty Naval Officer who currently holds that certification.  She has authored peer-reviewed articles and presented scientific talks at national conferences.  She also serves on the American Board of Forensic Toxicology Examination Committee and Society of Forensic Toxicologists Awards Committee.