TERA PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 41

FAX: (513) 542-7487

EMAIL: Dr. Abraham

Dr. Irene Abraham joined TERA in 2009 as a toxicologist after completing her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began her graduate school experience as part of the Interdisciplinary Bio-medical Science (IBMS) program, which allowed her to rotate in any of the 11 affiliated biomedical departments before she ultimately chose to join the Curriculum in Toxicology. Her dissertation research focused upon the development and validation of a liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for the quantification of cisplatin intrastrand DNA crosslink adducts to provide a sensitive and specific biomarker for molecular dosimetry studies. Her doctoral research experiences allowed her to learn many molecular toxicology techniques while performing studies of oxidative stress, carcinogenesis and DNA adduct formation such as western blotting, PCR, rtPCR, DNA isolation, cell culture (bacteria, animal and human). She also has experience with animal studies. Dr. Abraham is interested in the use of mode of action and mechanisms of toxicity of occupational and environmental toxicants and carcinogens in risk assessment. Dr. Abraham has mentored undergraduate students through the Research Education Support, Summer Pre-Graduate Research Experience (SPGRE), and Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) programs. She has also held several leadership positions with multiple organizations at UNC including: Graduate and Professional Student Federation [Senator (2004-2005), Chief of Staff (2005-2006), Vice President of External Affairs (2006-2007)] and National Association of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers [Vice President External Affairs (2005-2006)].

- B.S. magna cum laude, Virginia State University, Chemistry pre-medical (2001)
- Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Toxicology (2009)

TERA Office Number 513-542-7475 X10

FAX:  (513) 542-7487
EMAIL:  Ms. Ayers

Ms. Ayers joined TERA in 2006. She brings with her a wealth of administrative experience.

Phone: (513) 542-RISK (7475), extension 14
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Dr. Dourson

Dr. Dourson is the President of Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA), a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the best use of toxicity data in risk assessment.  Before founding TERA in 1995, Dr. Dourson held leadership roles in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as chair of US EPA's Reference Dose (RfD) Work Group, charter member of the US EPA's Risk Assessment Forum and chief of the group that helped create the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).  
 
Dr. Dourson received his Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Cincinnati.  He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.  
 
Dr. Dourson has served on or chaired numerous expert panels, including peer review panels for US EPA IRIS assessments, US EPA’s Risk Assessment Forum, TERA’s International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) independent peer reviews and consultations, FDA’s Science Board Subcommittee on Toxicology, the NSF International’s Health Advisory Board, and SOT’s harmonization of cancer and non-cancer risk assessment.  He served as Secretary for the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) and has held leadership roles in specialty sections of SRA and SOT.  He is currently on the editorial board of three journals.  Dr. Dourson has published more than 100 papers on risk assessment methods, has co-authored over 100 government risk assessment documents, and has made over 100 invited presentations.  

- Ph.D., Toxicology, University of Cincinnati (1980)

- Certified, American Board of Toxicology (1985, 1990, 1995, 2000)

PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 27
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Dr. Gadagbui

Dr. Bernard Gadagbui joined TERA in 2004 as a toxicologist after a combined 8-year toxicologist position at the University of Florida and the Bureau of Pesticides of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. He has a wealth of research and teaching experience in environmental toxicology, experience in evaluating human health risks posed by chemicals including pesticides and in developing health-related toxicity values for chemicals, and is familiar with state and federal pesticide regulations. Dr. Gadagbui is interested, among others, in the use of mode of action and mechanisms of toxicity of occupational and environmental toxicants and carcinogens in risk assessment.

- B.S. with honors, University of Ghana, Biochemistry with Chemistry (1985)

- M.S., University of Bergen, Norway, Biochemistry (1992)

- Ph.D., University of Bergen, Norway, Environmental Health & Aquatic Toxicology (1996)

- Certified, American Board of Toxicology (2007)

PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 17
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Dr. Haber

Dr. Haber joined TERA in 1998 and currently is the Associate Director, responsible for strategic direction of our science portfolio, training and overall quality initiatives at TERA.  She has 18 years of experience in development of assessment documents and in risk assessment methods development, including consideration of mechanism/mode of action.   She was the lead author of more than 30 major documents for multiple EPA offices, other government agencies, and private sponsors, and has been a coauthor or reviewer of 100’s more. 

She has served as a panel chairperson or panel member for scientific peer reviews organized by TERA, EPA, and other U.S. and foreign government agencies.  She has also served on two panels for the NAS/NRC.  Dr. Haber is active in communicating her findings to the broader scientific community through participation in professional societies, routine publication of her work, authoring book chapters, service as an editorial reviewer for scientific journals,  and through presentation of invited lectures.  She has experience in benchmark concentration/ benchmark dose (BMC/BMD) modeling and categorical regression modeling, and served as a peer reviewer for EPA’s BMD modeling guidelines.  Other methods development work includes the combination of PBPK and BMD/BMC modeling in the development of RfDs and RfCs; research into methods for improving the scientific basis for uncertainty factors; consideration of mode of action in cancer risk assessment; toxicology issues related to potentially susceptible populations (e.g., children’s risk); and use of biomarker data in risk assessment. 

She served as chair-elect, vice president and councilor of the SRA Dose-Response specialty group and as an officer of the SOT Risk Assessment Specialty Section (RASS), and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.  She is one of the lead teachers for TERA’s Dose-Response Assessment Boot Camp, developed a course on issues related to children’s risk assessment, and presents specialized courses to diverse groups of risk assessors and at professional society meetings.

- B.S., Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (1983)

- Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1990)

- Certified, American Board of Toxicology (2004, 2009)

PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 23
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Ms. Kohrman

Ms. Kohrman joined TERA as an Environmental Research Assistant in 2007 after completing a summer internship with TERA.  She provides project support in developing risk documents and assists in the research and development of a number of TERA projects.

- B.A. Zoology, Miami University (2007)

PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 19
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Mr. Kroner

Mr. Kroner joined TERA in 2006. As an Associate Environmental Scientist,  Mr. Kroner manages the Alliance for Risk Assessment (ARA - www.allianceforrisk.org), a collaboration of organizations dedicated to improving the flow of information between organizations, and administers the State Hazard Evaluation and Lending Program, offering pro bono expert assistance to local and state governments.  In January 2008, Mr. Kroner was elected to the Board of Directors of the Northside Community Council for a two-year term.

- B.A. Environmental Studies, Northeastern University (2006)

- M. En. Environmental Sciences, Miami University (In progress)

PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 16
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Dr. Maier

Dr. Maier has 17 years of professional work experience in the areas of environmental health, occupational hygiene, and toxicology.  He currently serves as the Director of the non-profit organization Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA).  He provides overall management of the science team and strategic direction for the organization, leads marketing efforts, and provides oversight for risk and safety assessment projects.  In his capacity as a toxicologist and risk assessor, he has led numerous projects, and has co-authored technical reports, human health risk assessment documents, or toxicity summaries covering more than 200 individual substances.  At TERA he has also served in several capacities in support of scientific peer reviews, including as a panel chairperson, external peer reviewer, and in developing technical meeting summaries. 

Dr. Maier completed his Ph.D. in toxicology with research interests in the molecular mechanisms of toxicity.  He has conducted basic research in the areas of metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture toxicology and molecular toxicity of nuclear receptors.  He continues to be actively engaged in developing research to improve risk assessment approaches through the integration of basic biology and risk assessment science.  Recently his research efforts have focused on methods and approaches for using early biological effect markers to reduce uncertainties in risk assessment and for developing methodologies for deriving occupational exposure limits and improving occupational risk assessments.  Dr. Maier remains active in communicating his findings to the broader scientific community through participation in professional societies, routine publication of his work, service as an editorial reviewer for scientific journals, and through presentation of invited lecturers.  He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. 

In addition to his training as a toxicologist, Dr. Maier is also an industrial hygienist and is certified in comprehensive practice by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene.  He has managed industrial hygiene programs for a diverse array of facilities, and based on this experience is well-versed in the areas of occupational exposure assessment, development and implementation of control strategies, and hazard communication and training.

- B.S., Natural Resources, Ball State University (1988)
- M.S., Industrial Health, University of Michigan (1989)

- Ph.D., Toxicology, University of Cincinnati (2000)
-Certified, Comprehensive Practice, American Board of Industrial Hygiene (1994)

-Certified, American Board of Toxicology (2004)

PHONE: (513) 521-7426
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Ms. Patterson

Ms. Patterson joined TERA in 1995 as an environmental scientist. She is the Peer Review and Peer Consultation Program Manager and is responsible for the development and operations of TERA's independent peer review program. Ms. Patterson has organized over two dozen peer review meetings, bringing together international groups of experts to evaluate and judge risk assessment documentation for both public and private sponsors. She developed the ITER database from a small prototype to the current Internet version of nearly 500 chemicals, and continues to participate in the expansion of ITER. Ms. Patterson also develops and reviews risk assessment documentation for TERA sponsors. Recent projects have included evaluation of pesticide studies for ethical treatment of human subjects, co-author of the comparative Dietary Risk report under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. EPA, development of a framework and method to characterize risks of non-lethal weapons, and project manager for a 5-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. EPA to develop peer consultation for risk assessment

Before joining TERA, Ms. Patterson worked for twelve years for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation and the Office of Research and Development. With EPA she planned and managed contractual and in-house activities for the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Her responsibilities included development of the overall IRIS program, database development, user support, outside involvement, and cross-Agency coordination.

In recognition of her contributions to the IRIS program, Ms. Patterson was awarded an EPA Bronze medal in 1991. She received numerous other awards during her EPA tenure including two additional Bronze medals for development of a new regulatory review program (1985) and establishment of an on-site childcare center (1991). She has published a number of papers on risk assessment and information resources.

- B. Phil., Interdisciplinary Studies, Miami University (1980)

- M.En., Environmental Sciences, Miami University (1984)

PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 11
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Ms. Poehlmann

Ms. Poehlmann was named Administrative Program Manager in May 2008.  She joined TERA in June 1998 as  Executive Administrator. While working for TERA, she  attended Xavier University fulltime and completed her undergraduate degree. Ms. Poehlmann provides administrative guidance to the scientists and staff on a range of projects, with responsibilities ranging from administrative oversight of projects to website management, as well as overall office management.  Ms, Poehlmann is also a member of the Board of Directors for Oxbow Inc., as well as the Editor of Wetland Matters, the newsletter for Oxbow, Inc.  Oxbow Inc. is a land conservancy group whose function is to preserve, protect, and improve the flood plain wetland at the mouth of the Great Miami River

- B.A., Liberal Arts, Xavier University (2000)

PHONE: (513) 542-7475, extension 12
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Ms. Pollock

Ms. Pollock joined TERA in April 2002   In her role as TERA’s financial administrator, Judy is responsible for all aspects of TERA’s financial management.  Before joining TERA, Judy worked for several small businesses simultaneously as bookkeeper or business manager.  Her role in these companies included all facets of bookkeeping, general office administration and design and layout of business forms and publications.  She specialized in setting up small office accounting systems that were then maintained on a weekly basis.  Judy is very active in the community and is a member of the Northside Community Council, where she served as Council treasurer from 2000-2001.  Judy is currently pursuing a degree in accounting.

Phone: (910) 528-9768
Fax: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Ms. Strawson

Ms. Strawson joined TERA in 1996 after spending five years with the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development. As Director of TERA's Education and Training program, she is responsible for developing programs to educate the public and others on toxicology and risk assessment issues by evaluating the training needs of various audiences and preparing course training materials. Examples of recent training activities include developing training modules on noncancer risk assessment and on evaluating mode of action under the 1996 cancer guidelines for U.S. EPA and developing a computerized training course for chemical workers on toxicology and risk assessment. In addition, Ms. Strawson has presented lectures on noncancer and cancer risk assessment at numerous graduate and continuing education courses.

Ms. Strawson also participates in TERA's VERA program by evaluating the human health risks posed by chemicals. These activities include the scientific review and analysis of health risk data, developing risk values (RfD/RfC, cancer potency values) and writing human health risk assessment reports. Recent assessments include acrylamide, acrylonitrile, bromate, chlorpyrifos, formaldehyde, hydrazine, and trimethylbenzenes. Ms Strawson also designs and monitors toxicity studies on perchlorate, which are needed to complete the data set for risk assessment.

During her years at EPA, Ms. Strawson worked closely with the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response as Director of the Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center. In this capacity, she provided nationwide support in human health risk assessment, toxicology, exposure assessment and risk characterization to people conducting risk assessments for the Superfund program. In addition, she worked to educate the public on risk assessment methods and application to site clean up. Ms. Strawson was also a Chemical Manager for EPA's IRIS Pilot, conducting noncancer and cancer assessments on chemicals for the IRIS database, and she was a member of the group that was implementing improvements to EPA's IRIS process.

Prior to joining U.S. EPA, Ms. Strawson worked for several years as an environmental consultant in the areas of risk assessment, site assessment and remediation, occupational safety and health, and environmental communication. She has given many invited presentations on noncancer risk assessment and has published in the areas of occupational health and environmental communication.

- M.S., Toxicology, University of Kentucky, (1986)

- M.T.S.C., Technical and Scientific Communication, Miami University (1988)

- J.D., Salmon P. Chase College of Law (1997)

Phone: (513) 542-7475 x21
Fax: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Dr. Sweeney

Lisa M. Sweeney, Ph.D., DABT, joined TERA as a senior scientist in 2009. Lisa has a broad range of experience in the application of toxicology, chemistry, and engineering to problems in the health and environmental sciences. She has over 15 years experience in risk assessment, pharmacokinetics, and biochemical engineering from a variety of private sector and non-profit backgrounds. Her experience has focused on the development and refinement of physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models and their application to risk assessment and experimental design. She is an author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications, with 18 as first author. She has previously served as a councilor for the Society of Toxicology’s Risk Assessment and Biological Modeling specialty sections.

- B.S.E, Chemical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University (1988)

- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Cornell Univeristy (1993)

- Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT), 1998, recertified 2003, 2008

-Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) No. 8874, 1998, recertified, 2005, 2009.

PHONE: (513) 542-7475 extension 30
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Ms. Willis

Ms. Willis recently joined the TERA team as an Environmental Research Assistant and has gained valuable experience in the field of risk assessment due to a previous internship with TERA. She has applied current risk assessment methods on a number of projects and is undergoing more training in toxicology and dose-response assessment through TERA. She has completed training to use Benchmark Dose Software and has applied the technique in chemical assessments. She has assisted on many projects through literature searches, data gathering and organization, and assessment of government and private sector studies, along with many other tasks. She is developing a broad understanding of how to use animal and human databases to assess human risk, including aiding in the updating and maintenance of the RiskIE database. 

Ali also has previous experience in many laboratories conducting experiments ranging from nanoparticle toxicology to behavioral and cognitive research. Ms. Willis was involved in a nanoparticle toxicology project through conducting literature research, application of dose, maintenance of laboratory standards, soil and animal digestions, and analysis of results, including use of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy, UV-Vis, and size exchange column, among others. Ms. Willis assisted with the predictors of relapse research by proposal revisions, grant writing and general literature retrieval. She also assisted with client data-gathering sessions, client screening sessions, and processing of blood/urine samples for testing. Each of these experiences has also allowed for pilot study design and implementation. Ms. Willis implements this knowledge on a daily basis at TERA and has brought an inquisitive nature and perspective with her. She plans to grow and learn more in a wide variety of fields while working with TERA.

- B.S., Biomedical Science, Antioch University, 2007

PHONE: (512) 863-5441
FAX: (513) 542-7487
EMAIL: Ms. Wullenweber

Ms. Andrea Wullenweber has over 14 years of professional experience in the field of environmental science, with the last 9 years encompassing activities in human health risk assessment.  Ms. Wullenweber currently manages TERA's Global Outreach program, providing direction to TERA's activities and projects related to risk resources, training, and public outreach.  Ms. Wullenweber originally joined TERA in 2000 to manage the International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) database (http://www.tera.org/iter/) and later fostered the development of the Risk Information Exchange (RiskIE) database.  She developed a partnership with the National Library of Medicine through which the ITER Database was added to the TOXNET compilation of databases (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/), which RiskIE will also be joining soon.  Ms. Wullenweber has authored or co-authored several publications entitled, Resources for global risk assessment: The International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) and Risk Information Exchange (RiskIE) databases,  Uncertainties in the Reference Dose for Methylmercury, and Human Health Risk Assessment:  Selected Internet and World Wide Web Resources.

Before joining TERA, Ms. Wullenweber worked for three years at U.S. EPA, Region 10, as the Air Toxics Program Coordinator. As such, she managed the program and provided regulatory and technical assistance to EPA staff, State and local agencies, industry, and the public. She also wrote Federal Register rules to delegate federal authorities to state and local agencies. While at EPA, she received an award for Outstanding Public Service from the Seattle Federal Executive Board, and received Special Act and Special Accomplishment Awards from U.S. EPA.

Previous to EPA, Ms. Wullenweber was an Environmental Manager at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base responsible for NEPA and Natural & Cultural Resources projects. In this capacity, she provided technical and regulatory support to assist fourteen bases in managing environmental conservation programs.

- M.S. Environmental Science (Toxicology & Environmental Health), Indiana University (1995)

- B.S. Health & Sport Studies (Exercise Science), Miami University (1992)