External Advisory Committee
Aaron Barchowsky, Ph.D.
Vince Castranova,
Ph.D.
David L. Eaton, Ph.D.
Bernard Fox, Ph.D.
John R. Hoidal, M.D.
Johnnye Lewis, Ph.D.
K. Michael Pollard, Ph.D.
Alun Thomas, Ph.D.
Ad Hoc Members
William L. Eschenbacher, M.D.
Robert E. Ferrell, Ph.D.
Marvin Fritzler Ph.D., M.D.
Lawrence Hunter, Ph.D.
Daniel Liebler, Ph.D.
Laurie Owen-Schaub, Ph.D.
Stephanie Padilla, Ph.D.
Kenneth R. Reuhl, Ph.D.
Sean Tavtigian, Ph.D.
Aaron Barchowsky, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Pittsburgh.
Email: abarchowsky@eoh.pitt.edu
Aaron Barchowsky received his B.S. in Zoology at North Carolina State University in 1978 and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Duke University in 1985. Following postdoctoral training in toxicology at Duke, he was a Research Assistant Professor of Medicine and an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at Thomas Jefferson University from 1988-1991. During this time he was the Head of the Laboratory for Investigative Medicine within the Division of Clinical Pharmacology. In 1991, he joined the faculty at Dartmouth as an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1998. Dr. Barchowsky has been a Project Director in the Toxics Metals Program (Superfund Basic Research Program) at Dartmouth since 1995. His research has focused on cell and molecular signaling in response to reactive oxygen species. His current projects examine cellular mechanisms for arsenic-induced vascular diseases and for chromium and nickel-induced pulmonary fibrosis. These projects focus on mechanisms for phenotypic change in response to low, environmentally relevant concentrations of metals. He has over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals related to his work in cell signaling. Dr. Barchowsky currently serves on the executive committee for the Center for Environmental Health Studies at Dartmouth and is a member of the faculty of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. He also serves as the Chair of the Radiation Safety Committee and has been on the Graduate Program Committee for Pharmacology since 1996. He has been a member of the Research Committee of the American Heart Association, New England Affiliate since 1996. He served as an external advisor for the outreach program of the Harvard Superfund Basic Research Program in 1996-1998 and has served on numerous review committees for the National Institutes of Health. He is currently a member of the Alcohol and Toxicology-1 study section.
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Vince Castranova, Ph.D.
Chief, Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Email: Vic1@cdc.gov
Dr. Castranova received his Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 1974 and served a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale. His research interests are in pulmonary cell physiology, pulmonary inflammation, occupational lung diseases, and inhalation toxicology. Dr. Castranova's NIOSH laboratory is involved in the isolation and characterization of lung cells to determine their function, interactions, and susceptibility to occupational or environmental pollutants. This research focuses on the role of oxidant damage and cytokine expression in the development and progression of pulmonary diseases such as coal workers' pneumoconiosis, silicosis, asbestosis, emphysema, and byssinosis.
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David L. Eaton, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Research, School of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of Washington
Email: deaton@u.washington.edu
David L. Eaton, Ph.D., is Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Director of the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health, an NIEHS Center of Excellence. Dr. Eaton is also Associate Dean for Research in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Washington. He received his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1978 followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at KUMC before joining the faculty of the University of Washington in 1979. Dr. Eaton's research and teaching program focuses on the molecular basis for environmental causes of cancer and how human genetic differences influence individual susceptibility to chemicals found in the environment. He also oversees a program to develop interactive curriculum materials in environmental health sciences for K-12 education. Dr. Eaton has served in a number of board positions in national toxicology programs and associations and has published over 100 scientific articles and book chapters in the field of toxicology and risk assessment.
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Bernard Fox, Ph.D.
Chief, Laboratory of Molecular and Tumor Immunology, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Portland Medical Center, Portland, OR
Email: foxb@foxlab.org
Dr. Fox is Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular and Tumor Immunology in the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center, an oncology research facility within the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute of the Providence Portland Medical Center. His laboratory focus centers on identifying and characterizing the T cells that bring about antitumor activity in order to develop methods to induce these cells to grow inside a living organism. Dr. Fox earned his Ph.D. in Cellular Biology/Biophysics at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. He also served a postdoctural Fellowship in the Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Fox taught at Oregon Health and Science University and at the Oregon Graduate Institute. He is a member of the Oregon Cancer Center.
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John R. Hoidal, M.D.
Professor and Chairman of Medicine, University of Utah Health Sciences Center.
Email: john.hoidal@hsc.utah.edu
Dr. Hoidal is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Respiratory, Critical Care & Occupational Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. He received his M.D. degree from the University of Minnesota in 1969 and completed his internship and residency there, becoming Chief resident in 1972. At the completion of a fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine 1975, Dr. Hoidal became an Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. In 1983 he moved to the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center where he served as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Pulmonary Medicine Division. Moving to his current position in 1987, Dr. Hoidal’s laboratory at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center studies the role of proteinases and oxidases in lung injury. Over the past two decades, Dr. Hoidal has received research support and been involved in an advisory capacity with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and he has published more than 167 manuscripts in peer-reviewed publications.
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Johnnye L. Lewis, Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
Director, Community Environmental Health Program and NIEHS Center Community Outreach & Education Program, University of New Mexico.
Email: jlewis@cybermesa.com
Dr. Lewis is a Professor in Internal Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, and the developer and Director of the Community Environmental Health Program (CEHP) at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. Her background encompasses both a successful history in basic laboratory toxicological research in inhalation and neurotoxicology, as well as community participatory research and education with Native American communities in the Southwest. As a liaison between communities and professionals, her community involvement activities include working closely with target populations throughout the state to ensure environmental justice concerns and appropriate health care information are effectively defined, prioritized and communicated.
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K. Michael Pollard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Experiemental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute
Email: mpollard@scripps.edu
Dr. Pollard is Associate Professor at the W.M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, Department of Molecular and Experiemental Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. His primary research interests focus on the mechanisms involved in the initiation of autoimmunity and how interactions between the environment and genetics influence the induction of autoimmune diseases. Dr. Pollard received his Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, Australia, and worked at the Sutton Rheumatism Research Laboratory, St. Leonards, Austrailia. before joining The Scripps Research Institute, where he has been a faculty member since 1992. In addition to being a reviewer for 13 journals, he has published more than 50 scientific publications, including research articles, book chapters, and reviews.
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Alun Thomas, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Medical Informatics. University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Email: alun@genepi.med.utah.edu
Alun Thomas is Professor of Bioinformatics in the Medical Informatics Department of the the School of Medicine, University of Utah. He received his B.Sc. in Mathematics and Statistics at Coleg Pryfysgol Cymru, in Aberystwyth, UK, and completed his Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics at the University of Cambridge in 1985. He was a lecturer in Statistics at the University of Liverpool and the University of Bath, UK. He was the director of Statistics and Informatics at Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City and later served in the position of Vice President of Bioinformatics at this biomedical research firm. Dr. Thomas' research interests include computational statistic, mathematical genetics, and DNA sequencing and genome analysis, and he is an author of more than 50 publications.
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Ad Hoc Members
Branch Chief for the Surveillance Branch in the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies as part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Email: wae7@cdc.gov
Dr. Eschenbacher received his M.D. from Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas and his fellowship training at The University of California, San Francisco in the Cardiovascular Research Institute. He began his academic carrier at the University of Michigan then moved to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Currently, Dr. Eschenbacher is the Branch Chief for the Surveillance Branch in the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies as part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In that capacity, he has continued his long-standing interest in investigations to understand the relationships between environmental/occupational exposures and the development/worsening of lung disease. Dr. Eschenbacher has over 45 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters. He was previously associated with the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center as both the director of research and the chairman of the Scientific Advisory Panel. In his academic career, he has received over $1 million in research funding; has been a member of several national scientific invited panels, study sections, and workshops; and held positions of leadership in the professional societies: American Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians.
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Robert E Ferrell, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh.
Email: rferrell@helix.hgen.pitt.edu
Robert E. Ferrell, Ph.D., is Professor, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ferrell received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Texas, Austin in 1970, and did his post-doctoral training in the Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan. From 1975-1984, he was an Assistant then Associate Professor at the Center for Demographic and Population Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, where his major focus was human population genetics. In 1984, he moved to the University of Pittsburgh, and for the last 15 years has focused on defining the role of genes in susceptibility to common diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease. He has extensive experience in gene mapping, molecular population genetics and quantitative genetics. He is coauthor on more than 350 peer reviewed publications in diverse areas of human genetics. He is Associate Chair of the Department of Human Genetics and has broad experience serving on NIH and NSF peer review panels.
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Marvin J. Fritzler, Ph.D., M.D.
Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Email: fritzler@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Fritzler received his PhD in 1971 under the direction of Dr. R.B. Church and his M.D. degree in 1974 from the University of Calgary. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla and the University of Colorado under the supervision of Dr. Eng M. Tan. Dr. Fritzler was appointed to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary in 1978. He has served as President of the Western Section of the American Rheumatism Association and the Canadian Society for Clinical Research. In 1986, he was inducted into the American Lupus Society Hall of Fame, was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award at the University of Calgary in 1988, and the Canadian Society for Clinical Research presented him with the Distinguished Scientist Award in 1995. He was a Scientist of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research until he assumed the position of Associate Dean (Research) in 1996. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Innovation Calgary and the Board of Management of the Alberta Science and Research Authority (ASRA). His research program is oriented to the cell and molecular biology of human autoantigens and the focus is on application of new technology in the development of novel serological diagnostic systems; the Golgi complex and endosome compartments of the cell as targets of autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases; cell cycle specific antigens and their relationship to cancer; and the role of environmental toxins and xenobiotics in induction of autoreactivity and autoimmunity. He is currently engaged in government-sponsored projects to assess the impact of environmental toxin exposure on health. He has authored over 180 manuscripts, book chapters and review articles. He currently holds the Arthritis Society Chair at the University of Calgary on July 1, 1999 and is currently on sabbatical leave at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
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Lawrence Hunter, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Computational Pharmacology and Computational Bioscience Program
Associate Professor of Pharmacology, PMB & Computer Science, University of Colorado
Email: Larry.Hunter@uchsc.edu
Dr. Hunter is the director of the Center for Computational Pharmacology and the Computational Bioscience Program within the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. He is also Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Preventive Medicine and Biometrics and Computer Science at the Boulder campus. His research interests include the development and application of advanced computational techniques for biomedicine, particularly the application of machine learning and statistical inference techniques to high-throughput molecular assays. His laboratory focuses on developing novel techniques for analysis of gene expression array data and for management of large collections of biomedical documents.
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Daniel Liebler, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Proteomics Laboratory, Mass Spectrometry Research Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Email: daniel.liebler@Vanderbilt.edu
Dr. Liebler completed a Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Environmental Toxicology under the direction of Dr. F. Peter Guengerich and his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Donald J. Reed in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Oregon State University. He is the director of the Proteomics Laboratory in the Mass Spectrometry Research Center and professor of biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Prior to this, Dr. Liebler had been in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Arizona. As the first faculty hired into the newly-created Center for Toxicology. Dr. Liebler helped to organize its successful application for an NIEHS Center grant, which then became the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC). Dr. Liebler served as director of the Analytical Core laboratory in the SWEHSC and as SWEHSC Deputy Director from 1998-99, and was subsequently appointed SWEHSC Director. Dr. Liebler developed an internationally recognized, NIH-funded research program focused on mechanisms of action of antioxidants and the role of antioxidant chemistry in cell and tissue protection against chemical injury and in the prevention of cancer. Another research focus was the application of modern mass spectrometry methods for proteomics research to identify protein targets of environmental chemicals and to characterize changes in protein expression in response to xenobiotics and disease states. He has authored 41 peer reviewed papers and 17 book chapters in his field. He has given many invited lectures at national and international conferences and at university and industry laboratories. He served as President of the Mountain West Regional Chapter of SOT and currently serves as Councillor for the Mechanisms Specialty Section of SOT. He served as a member of the NIH Chemical Pathology Study Section, the last two years as Chair. Dr. Liebler has served on the editorial boards of Chemical Research in Toxicology, Chemico-Biological Interactions, and Life Sciences.
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Laurie Owen-Schaub, Ph.D.
Professor, Biomedical Sciences, The University of California-Riverside
Email: laurie.owen-schaub@ucr.edu
Dr. Laurie Owen-Schaub received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 1986. She completed postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Grimm at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where she received a Preuss Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. She was appointed Assistant Professor of Immunology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1991 and Associate Professor of Immunology in 1999. Dr. Owen-Schaub has published more than 50 peer-reviewed research papers in the areas of cytokine biology and apoptosis. She has served on numerous committees and organizations at M.D. Anderson including the Immunology Program Steering Committee, the Women's Faculty and Administrators Organization Steering Committee, The Intellectual Property Committee, and the Animal Care and Use Committee. She currently serves as a member of the Keck Foundation Gene Therapy Center Steering Committee and the Women Faculty Initiatives Task Force. In addition, she is active in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center currently teaching in six graduate courses and serving on 38 graduate student committees. She received the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teacher Award in 1998. Dr. Owen-Schaub is a member of the American Society for Cancer Research, The American Association of Immunologists, Women in Cancer Research, and the American Society for Photobiology and has chaired numerous sessions at national society meetings. She currently serves as a faculty member on two NIH training grants (Immunology and Cancer Biology), a regular member of the American Cancer Society Immunology Study section, a member of the review panel for the California Department of Health Services Cancer Research Program, and as an editorial board member of Apoptosis and Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research.
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Stephanie Padilla, Ph.D.
Chief of the Cellular and Molecular Toxicology Branch of the Neurotoxicology Division of the National Health Effects and Environmental Toxicology Laboratory of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Email: padilla.stephanie@epa.gov
Dr. Stephanie Padilla is Chief of the Cellular and Molecular Toxicology Branch of the Neurotoxicology Division of the National Health Effects and Environmental Toxicology Laboratory of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and then did her postdoctoral work as a Staff Fellow in Maternal and Child Health at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. From there she joined EPA as a staff scientist. She has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, has served on numerous advisory committees, and is a regular reviewer of grants for other Federal Agencies. She also reviews approximately 20 journal articles a year for various scientific journals. Her own research interests include toxicant-induced peripheral neuropathy, the short and long term effects of anticholinesterase pesticides in developing and adult mammals, and the toxicity of anticholinesterase pesticide mixtures.
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Kenneth R. Reuhl, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of the Molecular Pathology Laboratory in the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University
Email: reuhl@eohsi.rutgers.edu
Kenneth Reuhl received his undergraduate degrees in Zoology and Classics from the University of Wisconsin in 1973 and his Ph.D. in Pathology from the same institution in 1980. From 1979 to 1987 he served as a Research Officer in the Division of Biological Sciences, National Research Council of Canada. In 1987 he moved to Health Canada, where he was responsible for diagnostic neuropathology. In late 1987, Dr. Reuhl moved to the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rutgers College of Pharmacy, as Associate Professor and Associate Director of Neurotoxicology . In 1991 he was promoted to Full Professor and became Director of the Molecular Pathology Laboratory in the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. Since 1997, Dr. Reuhl has been Director of the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology. Dr. Reuhl has served on numerous national advisory committees. He was a member of the Toxicology Study Section (1983-87), the Environmental Health Science Review Section (training grants, NIEHS centers, and program projects; 1996-1999), member and Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors, National Toxicology Program; Science of Advisory Board for Neurotoxicology, EPA, and currently serves on the Division of Extramural Training Review Committee for the NIEHS. He is Associate Editor of NeuroToxicology and on the editorial board of Toxicology. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and from 1996-2000 served on the ABT Board of Directors. Dr. Reuhl's major research interest focuses on the effects of neurotoxic metals on brain development. During the last 10 years, he has investigated the role of cell adhesion molecules on dynamic events such as neuronal migration and synaptogenesis. This work has now expanded to involve the adaptive events which occur in neurodegenerative diseases and aging. In addition, he is heading a research program investigating the identity and function of intrinsic neural stem cells during neurotoxic insult. He has extensive collaborations in various areas of experimental pathology, including pulmonary, renal, hepatic and dermal pathology. He is the author of more than 90 peer reviewed papers and 20 chapters.
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Sean Tavtigian, Ph.D.
Chief, Unit of Genetic Cancer Susceptibility, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Email: tavtigian@iarc.fr
Sean graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor of arts degree from Pomona College in 1984. He completed a PhD with Dr. Barbara Wold in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1992. Following brief postdoctoral studies at Myriad Genetics, he was promoted to Senior Scientist there in 1993. He became Director of Cancer Research at Myriad in 1996 and two years later was named to a Vice Presidency. In 2002, Dr. Tavtigian became Chief of the Genetic Cancer Susceptibility Unit of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization. Dr. Tavtigian's expertise includes many aspects of modern genetics, but his primary contribution has been one of gene discovery through positional cloning. Sean holds 6 US patents, and is an author on more than 30 publications. He has served on several grant review panels.
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