Robert Cooksey, the father-in-law of the lawyer who exposed people in several countries to a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, has spent 32 years characterizing the bacteria that cause TB and other illnesses in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.Pablo Bifani, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Brussels who coauthored two papers with Cooksey, said Cooksey has contributed important work to his field, but has not built up the same prestige as others in the field. "I think he does good work, but he's not one of those who is in the forefront of TB research. But that's because he's at the CDC, and they have other responsibilities."Cooksey led a group of researchers who identified two strains of a novel species of Mycobacterium, which they dubbed Mycobacteria cosmeticum. The new strains, found in both an Atlanta nail salon and a Venezuelan...

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