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Toxicology Program

Alumni

NCSU graduate students are currently employed in academia, government and the private sector.

Alumni Spotlight

Dr. AtLee Watson

Dr. Watson graduated from NC State in 2017 with his PhD in Toxicology. Today Dr. Watson is a Toxicology Study Director at Inotiv, a contract research organization located in the Research Triangle Park, NC. In this role, he oversees the design, conduct, and reporting of GLP safety/toxicology studies for commercial products at various stages of nonclinical development. Dr. Watson is a board-certified toxicologist with the American Board of Toxicology.

“During my time at N.C. State, I was fortunate to see the Toxicology program grow in parallel with the University’s core facilities, specifically the Genomic Sciences Laboratory and the Cell and Molecular Imaging Facility. Applying the methods offered at these core facilities certainly strengthened my dissertation, but also gave me the experience and working knowledge of how these tools can be used more broadly in the toxicology field.”

Dr. Crystal Lee Pow Jackson

Dr. Lee Pow Jackson doctorate research focused on the prevalence of endocrine disrupting compounds in surface waters throughout North Carolina and their association to anthropogenic sources and fish health and she received her PhD in Environmental Toxicology in 2016. Currently, she is a Research Environmental Scientist with RTI’s Center for Environmental Health, Risk, and Sustainability where she focuses on issues of drinking water quality, environmental contamination, and human health. Using her expertise in toxicology, exposure science, environmental health, water quality, risk assessment, risk communication, environmental justice, and public health, Dr. Lee Pow Jackson strives to identify, test, and implement practical solutions to environmental health challenges. With her interdisciplinary education and experience, Dr. Lee Pow Jackson has developed a strong ability to conduct and synthesize scientific research into public health guidance, communicate scientific findings and guidance to a broad range of audiences, and work in a collaborative team to address environmental health challenges. Dr. Lee Pow Jackson supports a wide range of projects at RTI including community-engaged research identifying, communicating, and mitigating the risks of contaminants in schools, child care centers, and households across the country. She is interested in research that broaches cross-cutting topics and addresses environmental health, climate change, environmental justice, children’s environmental health, and drinking water quality.  

Justin Conley

Dr. Conley graduated from NC State in 2014 with his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology. Today, he is a Reproductive Systems Biologist in the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Branch at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, NC. He is studying the reproductive and development toxicity of in utero exposure to individual chemicals and mixtures, primarily PFAS and endocrine disrupting chemicals including pesticides and plasticizers.

“I made a major change in focus between my dissertation research on the effects of metals on invertebrates to my postdoctoral and now principal investigator research on the effects of organic contaminants in a mammalian model. I believe this was possible due to the broad curriculum coverage and exposure to a wide variety of research topics and approaches within the field of Toxicology I received at NC State. Overall, my training provided the scientific foundation for me to successfully take on new challenges and reinvent myself as a researcher.“

Dr. Monica Poteat

Dr. Poteat graduated from NC State in 2014 with her PhD in Toxicology. Today, she is a Scientific Director at Chameleon Communications, a medical communications agency based in NYC. In this role, she works with pharmaceutical companies to develop scientific and marketing communications for healthcare providers and patients across many different therapeutic areas. 

“I am very appreciative of all the experience I was able to gain in the Buchwalter lab with scientific storytelling. Authoring publications, grant applications, and platform presentations really prepared me for my current role where I work to create content that is engaging and easily understood by the intended audience.“

Graduates of NC State’s Toxicology Program have assumed diverse and prominent roles in the toxicology/EHS community. Their collective evolution from graduate student to postdoctoral fellow/intern, to secondary positions in academia, industry or government is laudable.

  • Sarah Orr (2022) is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Georgia Tech and an Adjunct Instructor at Morehouse College.
  • Ryan Weeks (2022) is a Postdoctoral Scholar at UNC, School of Medicine, Department of Neurology.
  • Roger Lawrie (2021) is a Post Doctoral Investigator for the Center for Excellence in Quarantine and Invasive Species at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez.
  • Dorothy You (2021) is a Postdoctoral Scholar at UC-Davis.
  • Catherine Wise (2020) is a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  

Other recent graduates have entered the private sector, including: 

  • Sierra Riegl Moorefield (2022) is currently employed in the Leadership Development Program at BASF.
  • Mark Simmers (2022) currently works as a Field Application Specialist for Chemometec.
  • Zachary Messenger (2018) works as a Toxicologist for Radeas Industries.
  • Katherine Duke (2017) following an initial postdoctoral position at Roivant Sciences, is now Lead Toxicologist with ICF.

Other graduates have obtained prominent positions within government including:

  • Wilfred Lopez Perez (2022) is a NIEHS Fellow, in the Immunity, Inflammation & Disease Laboratory.
  • Rubia Martin (2021) serves as an ORISE Post-Doctoral Fellow for the US EPA.
  • Stephany Eytcheson (2018) is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.
  • Erin Yost (2014) serves as a Staff Toxicologist with US EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). 

Other trainees who have had more time to advance their respective careers have assumed prominent leadership roles in the toxicology/EHS community.

  • Gina Hilton (2017) is an Advisor with PETA Science Consortium International e.V.
  • Erin Kollitz (2014) is a Staff Toxicology with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
  • Larissa Williams (2010) is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department at Bates College. 
  • Peter Broglie (2010) is a CMC Sr. Program Manager at Precision BioSciences.
  • Chad Blystone (2006) is a Toxicologist in the Toxicology Branch of the National Toxicology Program. 
  • Steven Simmons (2006) is Principal Investigator in National Center for Computational Toxicology, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency. 
  • Cynthia Rider (2006) is a Toxicologist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Toxicology Program and the 2023-2024 SOT Vice President-Elect.
  • Dori Germolec (1999) is a Biologist in the Systems Toxicology Branch at NIEHS. 
  • Nathan Cherrington (1998) is Associate Dean of Research, Director of Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center, Director of Center for Toxicology, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 1885 Society Distinguished Scholar at the University of Arizona. Additionally, he is the recipient of the prestigious SOT Achievement Award. 
  • Lisa J. Bain (1996) is an NIH-funded investigator and Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Toxicology at Clemson University. 
  • William Baldwin (1995) is an NIH-funded investigator and Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program at Clemson University. 
  • David M. Owens (1995) is Research Core Directory, Skin Stem Cell Imaging and Manipulation Core Director; Research Cores Program Director, and Associate Professor of Epithelial Cell Biology, Department of Dermatology at Columbia University, New York. 
  • Laura A. Hansen (1993) is Professor, Associate Dean of Research, Director of CU Histology Core Facility, Director, Molecular Mechanisms and Cancer Targets program. Molecular Mechanisms and Cancer Targets Program, and an NIH-funded investigator at Creighton University.
  • Steven D. Holladay (1989) is Department Head, Professor, & UGA Foundation Professor in Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia. 
  • Jon Cook (1985) is Chief Toxicology Scientist and Vice President of Scientific Research at Pfizer Inc., and served as President of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) (2011-12). 
  • Norbert Kaminski (1985) served as SOT President (2014-2015) and currently serves as Director of the Center for Integrative Toxicology and Interim Director for the Center for Research on Ingredient Safety at Michigan State University while Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cell and Molecular Biology Program.
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