Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety & Health Center

Dr. Terrance J. Kavanagh

Center Director

Dr. Kavanagh received a B.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, an M.S. in physiology/toxicology, and a Ph.D. in Toxicology and Genetics from Michigan State University. He conducted research in free radical biology and aging as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Washington. Dr. Kavanagh joined the faculty at the University of Washington in the Departments of Medicine and Environmental Health in 1989. He is currently Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Kavanagh is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and a Member of the Society of Toxicology (Vice President Elect of the Mechanisms Specialty Section), the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics, the International Society for Analytical Cytology, and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Dr. Kavanagh is Director of the UW Nanotoxicology Center and Deputy Director of the UW Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health. He also serves on the External Advisory Board of the NIEHS Center for Rodent Genetics, the NIA Interventions Testing Program, the University of Montana Environmental Health Sciences Center and the University of Alaska INBRE Program. Dr. Kavanagh's areas of research include glutathione metabolism, molecular toxicology, analytical cytology, free radical biology, oxidative stress biomarkers, toxicogenomics, systems genetics and nanotoxicology.

Dr. François Baneyx

Dr. Baneyx’s research interests range from understanding the structure, function and mechanism of action of stress proteins to the identification, characterization, genetic engineering and use of inorganic-binding polypeptides for the fabrication of hybrid nanomaterials and devices. He serves as director of the University of Washington Center for Nanotechnology, site director of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, and co-director of the Genetically Engineered Materials Science and Engineering Center.

Dr. David L. Eaton

Dr. Eaton maintains his own active research and teaching program focused in the area of the molecular basis for environmental causes of cancer, and how human genetic differences in biotransformation enzymes may increase or decrease individual susceptibility to chemicals found in the environment. Nationally, he has served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer of the American Board of Toxicology (1990-94), and as President of the Society of Toxicology (2001-02). He has also served on the Board of Environmental Studies and Toxicology/National Academy of Sciences /National Resource Council (1996-99), as a member of the Board of Directors and Vice-President of the Toxicology Education Foundation, and on the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. He is currently professor and director of the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health, an NIEHS Center of Excellence, at the University of Washington, and Associate Vice Provost for Research for the University of Washington.

Dr. Elaine M. Faustman

Dr. Faustman’s research interests include understanding mechanisms of developmental and reproductive toxicants, characterizing in vitro techniques for developmental toxicology assessment, and development of biologically based dose-response models for non-cancer risk assessment. Her research expertise includes development of tools for incorporating new scientific findings into risk assessment decisions. Dr. Faustman serves as the director of the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication. She is co-PI of the NIEHS- and NSF-funded Pacific Northwest Center for Human Health and Ocean Studies at UW and director of the Reproductive and Developmental Research Core of the UW Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health. She is an elected fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society for Risk Analysis. She is the current president of the Teratology Society and serves on the executive boards of the Society of Toxicology and NIEHS Council.

Dr. Xiaohu Gao

Dr. Gao's research interest is focused on biomedical nanotechnology, molecular engineering and molecular imaging. He is a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering and an investigator at the UW NESAC/BIO and UW Center for Nanotechnology.

Dr. William C. Parks

Dr. Parks’s research focuses on how specific matrix metalloproteinases – matrilysin (MMP-7), stromelysin-2 (MMP-10), and epilysin (MMP-28) – function in innate immunity, with emphases on macrophage differentiation, neutrophil activation, and epithelial repair. Their studies encompass diverse models of tissue inflammation, particularly lung infection and injury. His group has determined that these MMPs serve distinct, non-overlapping functions in several distinct processes of innate immunity and leukocyte behavior. Among their current goals is to understand mechanism; that is, to identify the physiologic protein substrates of individual MMPs whose cleavage regulates specific processes, such as macrophage polarization, neutrophil recruitment, cell migration, etc. Dr. Parks established theCenter for Lung Biology. He is an ex-president of the American Society for Matrix Biology, an associate editor of the American Journal of Cell & Molecular Respiratory Biology, chair of the NIH Lung Injury, Repair, and Remodeling (LIRR) Study Section, and on the board of trustees of the Puget Sound Blood Center.

Dr. Michael G. Yost

Dr. Yost’s research interests focus on the development of novel tools for environmental and occupational exposure assessment. TheOptical Remote Sensing Laboratory (ORS lab) is devoted to sampling techniques that use electromagnetic radiation (e.g. ultraviolet, visible, infrared light, or lasers,) to identify and measure environmental pollution at locations distant from the instrument. These tools have been used to scan an area and map contaminant concentrations. Dr. Yost’s lab has also developed and tested biological monitoring tools, including a heart rate controlled sampling pump that changes flow rate in proportion to a person's breathing rate to account for increased exposure due to exercise and physical labor and instruments that measure chemicals on skin and other surfaces.