Author Archives: ToxStrategies

San Antonio, TX

Three years of preparation and hard work came to a rewarding end this September, with the successful completion of Dioxin 2010. Conference chairs, Drs Laurie Haws and Daniele Staskal-Wikoff, are proud to have organized and hosted the 30th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants – Dioxin 2010, which drew over 800 participants from 41 countries. One highlight of the robust scientific program at the conference was the grand finale on Friday, which was an exciting, interactive session on the international regulation of POPs, including discussions led by international experts on how to bridge the gaps between science and policy.

In addition to chairing the conference, several ToxStrategies scientists presented work and co-chaired sessions. For a full list of abstracts presented at the Dioxin 2010, please see our 2010 Abstracts and Presentations.

St. Helena Island, South Carolina

Michael Carakostas, DVM, PhD, DACVP has joined ToxStrategies, Inc as a Senior Consultant. Dr right here. Carakostas will be based near Beaufort, SC and will lead our Food and Supplement Safety Practice. He is a board certified veterinary clinical pathologist with 25 years of industry experience at several Fortune Global 500 corporations. Dr. Carakostas has extensive experience in food ingredient safety assessment, functional ingredient development, GRAS evaluations, food regulatory affairs and the management of risk and communication issues related to food safety, crisis management and product claims. He is also a nationally recognized expert in the interpretation clinical laboratory data from pre-clinical safety assessment studies, and has placed and monitored a number of pre-clinical safety assessment studies including target animal safety studies for veterinary pharmaceuticals. Dr. Carakostas has published extensively on a wide variety of topics including clinical veterinary medicine, chemical toxicology, clinical pathology data interpretation, animal drug evaluation and food ingredient safety assessment.

To read more about Dr. Carakostas, or to obtain his new contact information, please click here.

Orange County, California

Deborah Proctor has joined ToxStrategies, Inc as a Principal Health Scientist. Deborah is based in our Orange County, California office and will be overseeing west coast operations for ToxStrategies. She has over 20 years of experience in the environmental health risk assessment field, specializing in human health risk assessment, applied toxicology, mode of action evaluations for chemical carcinogens, environmental chemistry, exposure reconstruction, and quantitative dose-response analysis. Deborah is a nationally recognized expert regarding the potential health risks associated with occupational and environmental exposure to chromium. She has published extensively in this field and managed research projects that are now the bases of federal and state regulatory health criteria.

To read more about Ms.Proctor, or to obtain her new contact information, please click here.

Houston, Texas

Dr. Chad Thompson has joined ToxStrategies as a Senior Health Scientist and is based in Houston, Texas. He holds a doctorate degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Thompson’s comes to ToxStrategies from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he was involved with IRIS chemical risk assessments, the development of databases for physiological parameters suitable for application in physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling, as well as the development of risk assessment practices and policy documents. While at the U.S. EPA, his work also focused on susceptibility issues – including those related to genetics (e.g. polymorphisms), age (e.g. children), and health. He has also collaborated with national and international experts on issues regarding potential mechanisms of formaldehyde toxicity. In addition to his extensive technical background, Dr. Thompson also holds an MBA.

To read more about Dr. Thompson, or to obtain his new contact information, please click here.

Corpus Christi, Texas

ToxStrategies scientists, Dr. Laurie Haws and Andrew Tachovsky, addressed concerns about air quality in the community of Corpus Christi, Texas. Their analyses included a comprehensive assessment of extensive air monitoring data collected in the community, as well as a critical review of the USA Today study (“The Smokestack Effect”) concerning air quality around schools across the nation. As part of this research, ToxStrategies also conducted a detailed review of the USEPA model (the Risk Screening Environmental Indicators model also known as RSEI) underlying the USA Today study. In addition, ToxStrategies scientists conducted an assessment of biomonitoring data collected from citizens in the community to determine if measured concentrations were valid and were potentially due to exposures to ambient air.

This topic was recently addressed by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in a series of articles: first, an article describing the issue, followed by an editorial. Please contact us if you would like more information on this research project.

Birmingham, England

Three ToxStrategies, Inc. scientists travelled to Birmingham, England in late August to attend the 28th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Compounds (Dioxin 2008). Here, Dr. Daniele Staskal is shown discussing her poster presentation with Dr. Cynthia de Wit (Stockholm University); Dr. Staskal presented a preliminary evaluation of human health risk associated with exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the U.S. This study was included in the session on “BFRs – Exposure and Risk,” which Dr. Staskal also co-chaired.

Dr. Mark Harris presented three scientific papers while in Birmingham. Two of the short papers presented results of a study that investigated the congener profiles of dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and PBDEs in catfish using principal component analysis, and the third presented the findings of a preliminary human health risk assessment associated with consumption of fish from the Lower Passaic River.

Dr. Laurie Haws co-chaired the “Dioxin and Risk Assessment” session why not try this out. During this session she also presented the intermediate findings of an ongoing study investigating the impact of using weighted relative potency distributions when assessing the human health risk associated with exposure to dioxin-like compounds. This study is a collaborative effort with many leaders in the field, including several from the regulatory sector.

When not presenting or attending scientific sessions, Dr.’s Haws and Staskal were busy with preparations for the Dioxin 2010 conference, which they are co-chairing in San Antonio, TX.

Please contact us if you would like copies of these scientific presentations.

Austin, Texas

Drs. Mark Harris and Laurie Haws launch ToxStrategies Inc., a multidisciplinary scientific consulting firm that specializes in the evaluation of potential health risks associated with exposures to substances in consumer products, food ingredients and additives, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, as well as exposures to pesticides, industrial chemicals, and environmental contaminants. Drs. Harris and Haws bring a diverse array of experiences to their new venture, having worked in the consulting, government and industrial sectors. A primary goal of theirs in launching ToxStrategies, Inc. is to combine their passion and commitment for serving their clients with their strong technical skills and keen ability for developing innovative solutions to build a company with a client-first mindset. ToxStrategies, Inc. currently has offices in both Austin and Houston, Texas.