Adverse Reactions
Anne Chappelle, PhD, and David Faulkner, PhD
An interview podcast bringing you the people and stories behind the science of how biological, physical, and chemical agents may cause adverse reactions to public, animal, and environmental health. This podcast is presented by the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and hosted by SOT members Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner.
About Anne
After graduating from the University of Delaware with a BS in biology in 1991, Anne Chappelle accidentally found her calling when she worked a gap year in an industrial toxicology laboratory. As it turned out, toxicology was the perfect marriage of protecting both human health and the environment. She then went on to receive her PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from the (now) University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in 1997, focusing on upper respiratory tract toxicity.
For the last 20+ years, as a toxicologist and risk assessment expert for the chemical industry, Anne has been thrilled to not work in a laboratory anymore. Along the way, she has added a few more titles: spouse; DABT; Principal of Chappelle Toxicology Consulting, LLC; occasional blogger at My Toxic Life; and most life changing (and expensive): Mom. She is thrilled to be partnered with David to add podcast co-host to the list because it gives her the opportunity to “channel my inner Terry Gross.”
About David
David Faulkner’s interest in science started at age five with a few Bill Nye the Science Guy VHS tapes and hasn’t diminished since. A lifelong artist and science fan, David has worked in nearly every mass communication medium to share his love of science with the world. Now, as an early career toxicologist, David is living out his dream of co-hosting a science podcast! With a budget! And a producer! And super cool guests! And an awesome co-host! David thinks Bill would be proud.
David attended the University of Michigan, where he completed a BS in microbiology, a BA in English language (emphasis in creative writing), and an MPH in environmental health sciences, and the University of California Berkeley, where he completed a PhD in molecular toxicology under the supervision of Dr. Chris Vulpe. He has held postdoctoral appointments at the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and just started a new position as a toxicological risk assessor. He also is a full-time parent to two adorable purple velvet plants: Planthony Bourdain and Marie Planthoinette.
Disclaimer
The viewpoints and information presented in Adverse Reactions represent those of the participating individuals. Although the Society of Toxicology holds the copyright to the production, it does not vet or review the information presented nor does presenting and distributing the Adverse Reactions podcast represent any proposal or endorsement of any position by the Society.
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 Adverse Reactions Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Adverse Reactions episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Adverse Reactions for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Adverse Reactions episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Sweating It Out: Exercise versus Toxic Exposures
Adverse Reactions
04/28/22 • 25 min
With nonalcoholic fatty liver disease affecting nearly a third of the US population, Luma Melo, University of Pittsburgh, describes how mouse studies have shown that low-impact exercise can help reverse liver damage. Dr. Melo also shares with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner how research funding works in her native Brazil and the role of Brazilian women in toxicology.
About the Guest
Luma Melo, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, started her scientific career in her native Brazil, earning a master’s degree in physics from the University of São Paulo, where she also served as an Associated Instructor. She then earned a master’s degree in the philosophy of science and medicine and a PhD in environmental health from Indiana University in the United States.
Dr. Melo’s research focuses on liver disease (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) and exercise. She is exploring mode of action and genetic expression related to how exercise and environmental chemicals modulate the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases, as well as liver fibrosis and the mechanisms and determinants of mortality of alcoholic liver disease through translational studies including human samples and experimental models of liver disease. She also has conducted research involving aerobic exercise and breast cancer and published a book on quantum physics for laypeople titled But After All ... What Is Quantum Physics?
Dr. Melo is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an Adjunct Professor with Ball State University.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
Anthropogenic Ghosts on the Coast
Adverse Reactions
04/21/22 • 26 min
While no longer national news, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is still impacting the ecological health of the Gulf of Mexico and the livelihoods of the communities that rely upon the gulf’s aquatic life, as Robert “Joe” Griffitt of the University of Southern Mississippi reveals. Dr. Griffitt and co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner discuss how ecotoxicology is both an applied and a basic science, as well as how scientific discovery is not always a linear process.
About the Guest
Robert “Joe” Griffitt, PhD, is a Professor at and Director of the University of Southern Mississippi School of Ocean Science and Engineering.
Ecotoxicology, toxicogenomics, and bioinformatics are the focus of Dr. Griffitt’s research. Specifically, his lab investigates the impacts of metallic nanoparticles in aquatic and marine ecosystems and the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the northern Gulf of Mexico. In both cases, his lab uses a combination of molecular and whole-animal endpoints to try to assess toxicological impacts at both cellular and organism levels.
Dr. Griffitt earned a BS in marine biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and an MS in marine science and a PhD in environmental science from the University of South Carolina. He completed his postdoctoral research at the University of Florida.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
Lions and Vultures and Tox, Oh My
Adverse Reactions
04/14/22 • 29 min
How human activity, chemical exposures, and environmental factors combine to contribute to wildlife population declines is at the forefront of the research by Dr. Caroline Moore and other teams at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Dr. Moore unravels the role of toxicology in wildlife conservation with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner.
About the Guest
Caroline Moore, PhD, DVM, serves the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance as a Scientist in Disease Investigations. In this role, she works as a veterinary toxicology researcher, providing molecular and diagnostic toxicology support. She uses toxicology, pathology, molecular diagnostics, and epidemiology to better understand how environmental contaminants, such as heavy metals, pesticides, and harmful algal blooms, create roadblocks to wildlife conservation and how to prevent them.
Dr. Moore is working on developing and applying environmental and diagnostic toxicology in Kenya, where pesticides are used indiscriminately; in Peru, where mining activities release mercury into the environment, impacting birds, bats, nonhuman primates, ocelots, and more; and in Zimbabwe, where harmful algal blooms may be an increasing threat. She is especially interested in developing noninvasive in situ diagnostic tests to better understand the challenges to endangered species and how toxicant exposures may impact future generations through altered epigenetics.
Dr. Moore earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California Santa Cruz, assisting with necropsies and research on the decline of the southern sea otter. She earned her doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology and her veterinary medical degree at the University of California Davis while on a US Environmental Protection Agency STAR grant investigating how globally present microcystins have toxic effects on the nervous system. She spent the next year as a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences postdoctoral fellow at the University of California Los Angeles researching how environmental contaminants may cause reproductive toxicity through epigenetics, and the next two years as the SDZWA Steel Endowed Pathology Fellow, establishing successful ways to incorporate more toxicology into conservation field programs.
Dr. Moore is an active member of the Society of Toxicology, the American College of Toxicology, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, serving on committees and boards for comparative veterinary toxicology, early career professionals, diversity and inclusion, and regional support for Southern California. As an avid hiker, camper, and wildlife enthusiast, Dr. Moore has always felt the need to support conservation efforts through her research.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
Heat Stressed: Biostats and Public Health
Adverse Reactions
03/31/22 • 25 min
Biostatistics or data science for public health—whatever you choose to call it—informs understanding of the health and environmental impacts of exposures. Emory University’s Howard Chang discusses with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner the intricacies of interpreting data, the controversial P value, and the team science involved in studying public health challenges.
About the Guest
Howard Chang, PhD, is a Professor in the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, jointly appointed to the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health. He also serves as the Director of the Master’s Program in Biostatistics for Emory University.
Dr. Chang received a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia in 2004, followed by a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 2009. Before joining Emory University, he was a Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) postdoctoral fellow and worked with the North Carolina State University Department of Statistics and Children’s Environmental Health Initiative based at the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. Chang’s primary research interest is in the development and application of statistical methods for analyzing complex spatial-temporal exposure and health data. His current projects focus on two broad areas of population health: (1) exposure assessment for air quality and extreme weather events, especially under a changing climate; and (2) health effect estimation and impact assessment leveraging large databases, such as birth/death certificates, hospital billing records, electronic health records, and disease surveillance systems. Dr. Chang also collaborates with colleagues for studies related to ecology, infectious disease, social epidemiology, and community intervention trials.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
The Life-Giving Properties of Liquid Gold
Adverse Reactions
03/24/22 • 31 min
With limited existing research on the effects of medications and exposures on lactation, Christina D. Chambers, University of California San Diego, shares work underway to better assess risks and benefits for mom and baby. Co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner also discuss with Dr. Chambers the tricky roles of epidemiology and observational studies.
About the Guest
Christina D. Chambers, PhD, MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Family and Preventative Medicine at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) and Co-director of the Center for Better Beginnings. She also is a Clinical Professor in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego, Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the UC San Diego Department of Pediatrics, Director of the UC San Diego CTRI Center for Life Course Research, and Director of Clinical Research at Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego.
Dr. Chambers is a perinatal epidemiologist specializing in environmental causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes, birth defects, and childhood disabilities, with a special focus on human teratogens (environmental agents that cause birth defects or other adverse prenatal outcomes). She is currently conducting research on the prevention of alcohol-related birth defects, the safety in pregnancy of several new medications used for the treatment of maternal health conditions, and the safety of vaccines during pregnancy. Dr. Chambers serves as an advisor to national and international organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the US Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
Space, the Final Risk Assessment Frontier
Adverse Reactions
03/10/22 • 35 min
How do you set exposure limits to protect human health in a closed container floating in space? Valerie Ryder, a toxicologist at the NASA Johnson Space Center, takes co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner into the small world of space toxicologists, where they also discuss research involving lunar dust, bone loss, and CO2.
About the Guest
Valerie Ryder, PhD, DABT, is a board-certified toxicologist with the NASA Johnson Space Center. She received a BA in chemistry with a minor in microbiology from Texas A&M University in 2000 and a PhD in pathology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2004.
As an undergraduate, Dr. Ryder worked in the oceanography department in the laboratory of Dr. Luis Cifuentes. As a graduate student, she supported the dynamically controlled protein crystal growth shuttle flight experiment on STS-105 and studied altered differentiation of adult stem cells in modeled microgravity under the NASA Graduate Student Researcher Program.
After completing her graduate work, Dr. Ryder worked briefly as a scientific writer before joining the toxicology group at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2005. In 2008, she accepted a position as a toxicologist with Wyle’s Integrated Science and Engineering Group. In 2010, Dr. Ryder became a NASA Civil Servant and took over as the lead for the toxicology group in 2014. She leads a team of toxicologists who work to ensure that the air and water onboard spacecraft are safe for crew health.
Disclaimer
The viewpoints and information presented in Adverse Reactions represent those of the participating individuals. Although the Society of Toxicology holds the copyright to the production, it does not vet or review the information presented, nor does presenting and distributing the Adverse Reactions podcast represent any proposal or endorsement of any position by the Society.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
All the Tox That's Fit to Print . . . or Present . . . or Blog
Adverse Reactions
05/27/21 • 19 min
With pre-print services, data sharing, open access, and the internet rapidly changing the journal publication landscape, Toxicological Sciences Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey M. Peters provides co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner with perspective on how journals are adapting to the times. Dr. Peters also details how new training and guidance programs at ToxSci are aiming to enhance submissions and peer reviews.
About the Guest
Jeffrey M. Peters, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of molecular toxicology and carcinogenesis in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). He also serves as Deputy Director of the Penn State Cancer Institute, where his role is to catalyze collaborations among cancer researchers across Penn State’s colleges and campuses.
Dr. Peters has served on many editorial boards, including that of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and he is the Editor-in-Chief of Toxicological Sciences, the official journal of the Society of Toxicology (SOT).
Dr. Peters joined Penn State in 2000 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a doctorate in nutrition science, both from the University of California Davis. Dr. Peters also completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy and the Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Health at UC-Davis.
Dr. Peters holds long-standing NCI funding for his research program related to cancer and lipid metabolism. His laboratory studies the role of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in the regulation of homeostasis, toxicology, and carcinogenesis. PPARs are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily and are critical modulators of environmental and dietary stimuli. The lab is particularly interested in delineating how natural compounds found in dietary constituents can activate PPARs, with the goal of identifying new molecules/proteins that can be targeted with existing approaches to improve the efficacy of chemoprevention and chemotherapy. These studies will likely lead to the identification of specific macronutrients that will effectively activate PPARs so that dietary formulations of agricultural products can be developed that will improve human and animal health and prevent serious diseases.
Dr. Peters also is the Associate Director of the Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis at Penn State and was previously the co-leader of the Cancer Institute’s Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis research program.
Disclaimer
The viewpoints and information presented in Adverse Reactions represent those of the participating individuals. Although the Society of Toxicology holds the copyright to the production, it does not vet or review the information presented, nor does presenting and distributing the Adverse Reactions podcast represent any proposal or endorsement of any position by the Society.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
05/20/21 • 24 min
Margaret “Meg” H. Whittaker, Managing Director and Chief Toxicologist of ToxServices LLC, outlines the similarities and differences between risk assessment, alternative assessments, and green chemistry. Co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner also discover how alternative assessments can lead to safer and more sustainable products that protect animal, human, and environmental health and the importance of diversifying your portfolio when you’re a student or early career researcher.
About the Guest
Margaret H. Whittaker, PhD, MPH, CBiol, FRSB, ERT, DABT, has over 20 years of experience in both the performance and management of toxicology and human health hazard and risk assessment–related projects. She is currently the Managing Director and Chief Toxicologist of ToxServices LLC, where she serves as the project manager and technical lead of ToxServices projects for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice Program, Clean Production Action’s GreenScreen, international certification organizations, testing laboratories, and consumer products companies that manufacture and test products such as food additives, food contact materials, cleaning chemicals, fragrance agents, electronics, cosmetics, dietary supplements, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and drinking water additives. As project manager and technical lead for contracts with these organizations, Dr. Whittaker has contributed to and/or managed the development of hundreds of human health risk assessments, chemical hazard assessments, and exposure assessments, as well as hundreds of product-specific toxicology evaluations.
Dr. Whittaker is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and earned a PhD in toxicology from the University of Maryland Baltimore and an MPH in environmental health from the University of Michigan. Dr. Whittaker is a UK/EUROTOX Registered Toxicologist, as well as a Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the UK Royal Society of Biology. Dr. Whittaker has built her career on a foundation grounded in leadership and adherence to details and timelines. One of her first career awards (1992) was a United States Coast Guard Commandant’s Award for Outstanding Civilian Service, through which her “alacrity and tenacity” displayed while working on projects associated with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 were officially recognized.
In addition to her extensive program management experience, Dr. Whittaker has extensive technical experience in hazard identification and non-cancer and cancer dose-response assessment, including quantitative risk assessment (e.g., benchmark dose modeling for both carcinogens and noncarcinogens). She specializes in conducting chemical hazard assessments and chemical alternatives assessments. Before creating ToxServices in 2003, she worked at two of the country’s leading toxicology and risk assessment consulting firms (the ENVIRON Corporation and the Weinberg Group).
Disclaimer
The viewpoints and information presented in Adverse Reactions represent those of the participating individuals. Although the Society of Toxicology holds the copyright to the production, it does not vet or review the information presented, nor does presenting and distributing the Adverse Reactions podcast represent any proposal or endorsement of any position by the Society.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
The United States of Toxicity
Adverse Reactions
04/29/21 • 26 min
Retired National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Director and lifelong federal scientist Linda S. Birnbaum discusses the intersection of policy and science, as well as the effect of environmental exposures on public health, with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner. Dr. Birnbaum also shares her insights on how to be an effective leader and the importance of mentorship.
About the Guest
Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD, DABT, ATS, is the former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Toxicology Program (NTP). After retirement, she was granted scientist emeritus status and still maintains a laboratory. As a board-certified toxicologist, Dr. Birnbaum served as a federal scientist for 40 years. Before her appointment as NIEHS and NTP Director in 2009, she spent 19 years at the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), where she directed the largest division focusing on environmental health research.
Dr. Birnbaum has received many awards and recognitions. In 2016, she was awarded the North Carolina Award in Science. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health. She was also elected to the Collegium Ramazzini, an independent, international academy composed of internationally renowned experts in the fields of occupational and environmental health, and received an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Rochester and a Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Illinois. Dr. Birnbaum also has received honorary doctorates from Ben-Gurion University in Israel, Amity University in India, and the University of Rhode Island; the Surgeon General’s Medallion 2014; and 14 Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards, which reflect the recommendations of the US EPA external Science Advisory Board, for specific publications.
Dr. Birnbaum is an active member of the scientific community. She was Vice President of the International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX), the umbrella organization for toxicology societies in more than 50 countries, and she is a Past President of the Society of Toxicology (SOT), the largest professional organization of toxicologists in the world. She is the author of more than 800 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and reports.
Dr. Birnbaum’s research focuses on the pharmacokinetic behavior of environmental chemicals, mechanisms of action of toxicants including endocrine disruption, and linking real-world exposures to health effects. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Curriculum in Toxicology, and the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as in the Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program at Duke University, where she also is a Scholar in Residence.
A native of New Jersey, Dr. Birnbaum received her MS and PhD in microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Disclaimer
The viewpoints and information presented in Adverse Reactions represent those of the participating individuals. Although the Society of Toxicology holds the copyright to the production, it does not vet or review the information presented, nor does presenting and distributing the Adverse Reactions podcast represent any proposal or endorsement of any position by the Society.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
Wildfire Smoke Isn’t Monkey Business
Adverse Reactions
05/05/22 • 26 min
Because of natural exposure to wildfire smoke, nonhuman primates have provided an increased understanding of the long-term effects of smoke inhalation during infancy, shares Lisa Miller, University of California Davis (UC Davis). Dr. Miller also discusses with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner the importance of animal models in human health research and how nonhuman primates can be good models for vaccine testing, as was the case with COVID-19.
About the Guest
Lisa A. Miller, PhD, is a Professor for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and serves as the Respiratory Diseases Unit Leader for the California National Primate Research Center. She also is the principal investigator or co-investigator for 15 active research grants.
Dr. Miller’s research focuses on investigating the impact of environmental exposures (air pollution, allergens, microbes) on pulmonary and immune system development during the first year of life. She uses both cell culture approaches and animal models to address questions related to mucosal immune mechanisms in pediatric populations, with an emphasis on understanding the etiology of childhood asthma and susceptibility to infectious disease.
Dr. Miller earned her BS and PhD from UC Davis and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Send SOT thoughts on the episodes, ideas for future topics, and more.
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Adverse Reactions have?
Adverse Reactions currently has 32 episodes available.
What topics does Adverse Reactions cover?
The podcast is about Life Sciences, Chemistry, Podcasts and Science.
What is the most popular episode on Adverse Reactions?
The episode title 'Sweating It Out: Exercise versus Toxic Exposures' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Adverse Reactions?
The average episode length on Adverse Reactions is 27 minutes.
How often are episodes of Adverse Reactions released?
Episodes of Adverse Reactions are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Adverse Reactions?
The first episode of Adverse Reactions was released on Apr 22, 2021.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ