Adjunct faculty for ITEHP provide advice to trainees (occasionally serving on PhD committees), deliver occasional lectures for program courses and/or seminars, and provide general advice to the program’s leadership concern curricula and other aspects of the training environment. In addition, some may allow collaboration with our trainees by providing access to their research laboratories.
Adjunct faculty are listed below by institution.
Seth W Kullman, PhD
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Director of NCSU Toxicology Graduate Program
Professor of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences
The Kullman laboratory incorporates molecular, computational, and comparative/functional genomic approaches to examine gene environmental interactions. Studies focus on transcriptional profiling, coupling gene expression with pathology and conducting computational and laboratory-based methods to identify evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of xenobiotic-induced stress response. The goal of this approach is to generate a comprehensive understanding of how genetic and environmental factors interact and influence human and environmental health.
Profile: https://tox.sciences.ncsu.edu/people/seth-w-kullman/
Lab Website: https://kullmanlab.wordpress.ncsu.edu/
Gerald A LeBlanc, PhD
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Professor of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences
Environmental signals (light, temperature, etc.) regulate a diverse array of biological processes. Dr. LeBlanc’s research is involved in deciphering the cascade of events, beginning with environmental signals and ending with changes in gene expression, which regulate physiological processes. In addition, his lab is interested in understanding how environmental chemicals can disrupt these signaling processes.
Profile: https://tox.sciences.ncsu.edu/people/gerald-a-leblanc/
Robert C Smart, PhD
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Director of Graduate Programs, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
Director, Molecular Pathways to Pathogenesis in Toxicology NIEHS Training Grant
Director, Center for Human Health and the Environment (CHHE)
William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences
Dr. Smart’s research involves the identification and characterization of genes/signaling pathways that are determinants of susceptibility to cancer, particularly as it relates to gene-environment interactions. Current research projects include: i) the role of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein transcription factors (C/EBPs) in the regulation of proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and cancer; ii) the role of C/EBPs in the DNA damage response network/cell cycle checkpoints; iii) the signaling pathways involving oncogenes including Ras and receptor tyrosine kinases that control the transcription activity of C/EBPs; iv) C/EBPb and the tumor cytokine microenvironment in cancer development; and v) use of genetically modified mice to characterize the function of genes in cellular processes involving cell cycle regulation, differentiation, apoptosis, DNA damage response and cancer pathogenesis.
Profile: https://tox.sciences.ncsu.edu/people/robert-c-smart/
Lab Website: https://smartlab.wordpress.ncsu.edu/
Projects & Programs:
Gregory J Cole, PhD
North Carolina Central University (NCCU)
Professor, Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Cole’s longstanding research interest has been the role of the extracellular matrix in nervous system development, especially the function of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin. These studies are currently focusing on elucidating the mechanisms by which agrin modulates the function of heparin-binding growth factors and morphogens, such as fibroblast growth factors (Fgfs) and sonic hedgehog (Shh), during zebrafish nervous system development. Studies in the Cole lab are employing genetic and molecular approaches to examine ocular, forebrain, and hindbrain development in response to ethanol exposure, and the subsequent changes in agrin, Fgf or Shh signaling. This research is funded by an NIH U54 Cooperative Agreement grant between UNC-Chapel Hill and NCCU.
Profile: https://legacy.nccu.edu/directory/details.cfm?id=gcole
Lab Website: https://sites.google.com/site/colelabpage/
Stephanie Padilla, PhD
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
Research Toxicologist
Dr. Stephanie Padilla is a neurotoxicologist in the Integrated Systems Toxicology Division of the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Her research interests include developmental neurotoxicity and the use of alternative species for screening chemicals for toxicity.
Kevin Crofton, PhD
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
Research Toxicologist
Dr. Crofton is a developmental neurotoxicologist at the US EPA’s Office of Research and Development in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. His laboratory’s research interests include developmental neurotoxicity, with an emphasis on the use of mode-of-action models to study the impact of endocrine disruptors and the cumulative risk of thyroid disruptors and pesticides.
Bill Copeland, PhD
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Senior Investigator, Genome Integrity & Structural Biology Laboratory / Mitochondrial DNA Replication Group
The primary goal of the Mitochondrial DNA Replication Group is to understand the role of the replication apparatus in the production and prevention of mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Because the genetic stability of mtDNA depends on the accuracy of DNA polymerase gamma (pol γ), this project focuses on understanding the role of human pol γ in mtDNA mutagenesis.
Profile: https://irp.nih.gov/pi/william-copeland
Lab Website: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/labs/gisbl/pi/mdnar/index.cfm