Professor
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Toxicology
Assessing the Health Risks of Exposures to Organophosphate (OP) Pesticides
• Characterization of the in vitro and in vivo metabolism and disposition of OP pesticides in animal models and humans.
• Identify new biomarkers of susceptibility to OPs by investigating the function of genetic variants in key enzymes (CYP2B6, CYP2C19, PON1) which regulate OP metabolic activation and detoxification.
• Investigate the relationship between biomarkers of exposure, effect and susceptibility in human populations with environmental and occupational exposures to pesticides.
• Utilize enzyme-specific physiologically based pharmacokinetic /pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) models to better assess human exposure, target tissue dose and subsequent effects of OPs.
Assessing the Biological and Toxicological Effects of Exposures to Persistent Halogenated Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Including Dioxins, Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs).
• Assessing Human Exposures to dioxins, PBDEs, and PCBs
• Characterize the metabolism and disposition of dioxins, PBDEs, and PCBs in humans.
• Utilize toxicogenomic approaches to understand the relationship between exposures to dioxins and/or PCBs that are ligands for the Ah receptor and mechanisms for their adverse health effects.