Tom McHugh works for an environmental consulting company that specializes in environmental engineering and risk management. His projects mostly relate to human and ecological risk assessment, and involve applied research and development of regulatory guidance.

One of his favorite parts of the job is developing training programs on the application of risk assessment to environmental remediation sites. He has had the opportunity to present these training programs around the world, including Brazil, Italy, and Malaysia.

Tom rejoined the firm where he worked before coming to UW for his PhD, but with a new advantage. “I found that the training I received at DEH has created opportunities to advance professionally and within the company that I would not have had without the training.”

His specialty in toxicology allows him to tackle highly technical risk assessment issues. He also found that the DEH program gave him the broad environmental health background that he needed to apply his toxicology training to environmental remediation issues.

He suggests that current students become involved in other activities related to their future interests in addition to the core course requirements and thesis research. For example, he found that collaborations with the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and participation in risk assessment projects, while not directly related to his research, were an important part of his education.

Many parts of the country have a shortage of qualified toxicologists in environmental consulting, he said. “As risk assessment continues to become more important in environmental remediation, the role of toxicologists and other environmental health professionals continues
to increase.”

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