Environmental toxicology and cancer faculty members in the Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology (VTPP) support the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center and the Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology (IFT).
Dr. Weihsueh Chiu’s research focuses on the development of quantitative, data-driven approaches for understanding and predicting the human health effects of environmental chemicals. It specifically applies computational and statistical methods to transform data into knowledge used to protect public health. Studies also focus on approaches to estimate the variability in individual susceptibility to environmental exposures so as to protect sensitive subpopulations better. He serves as the deputy director of the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center and is a member of the Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology (IFT).
Dr. Timothy Phillips’ research focuses on food safety molecular toxicology, the elucidation of fundamental chemical mechanisms of toxic action/interaction of food-borne carcinogens, mutagens, and developmental toxicants, and the development of methods to detect and detoxify foodborne and environmental toxins. He serves as the primary investigator for Project 5 of the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center and is a member of the Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology (IFT).
Dr. Ivan Rusyn’s research focuses on the mechanisms of action of environmental toxicants and the genetic determinants of the susceptibility to toxicant-induced injury. Through a combination of in vivo animal studies and experiments that utilize cellular and molecular models, he aims to better understand why certain chemicals cause cancer or organ damage in rodents and whether humans in general, or any susceptible sub-population in particular, are at risk from similar exposures. His work also combines knowledge of toxicology, metabolomics, gene expression profiling, and mouse genetics. He is the director of the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center and chair of the Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology (IFT).
Dr. Stephen Safe leads the Molecular & Cellular Oncology Laboratory. The studies are focused on developing new mechanism-based anticancer agents that target the Ah receptor, the nuclear receptors NR4A1, NR4A2, and NR4A3, and the Sp transcription factors. Research is also focused on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and their functions and on the roles of the Ah and NR4A receptors in mediating ligand-induced responses in non-tumor tissues. He is a member of the Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology (IFT).