Linda Birnbaum didn't have toxicology in mind when she graduated from high
school. But a solid education and years of experience in research led to her
current position as director of the environmental toxicology division of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"It's the sort of happenstance occurrence that can happen in any field,"
she says. "I was doing research at a small, nonprofit institution on drug
metabolism when I discovered an interest in toxicology."
Birnbaum earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Rochester
and a master's and doctorate in microbiology from the University of Illinois.
Prior to joining the EPA, Birnbaum was head of the chemical disposition
group at the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. She's also
adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina, a member of numerous
professional societies and editorial boards, and has presented more than 50
national and international talks.
Toxicology also sort of evolved into a career for Donn Kushner. "I didn't
choose to be a toxicologist as such, but wanted to be a biochemist," says
Kushner, director of a collaborative program in toxicology.
"Then I became a biochemist who worked on interactions of micro-organisms
with toxic substances, including antibiotics and extreme environments."
What interests Kushner most is the resistance developed by microbial and
insect pests to drugs and insecticides that previously worked against them.
The Louisiana native has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Harvard and
a master's and a doctorate degree in biochemistry.
Ohio native Halle Weingarten wanted to be a physician. Initially a pre-medicine
major at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, she changed her major
and later earned a bachelor's degree in biology.
It was a part-time job in the county coroner's office during her senior
year that sparked an interest in toxicology. Now Weingarten is a forensic
toxicologist with her own consulting business in San Jose, California.
"The coroner's office and lab work really sparked my interest. I was there
for four years before I found a graduate program with what I wanted in toxicology....[I]
got my master's in pharmacology with a focus on forensic toxicology."
Weingarten found her way to San Jose when she was offered a position with
the county's crime laboratory. She was its chief of toxicology for 19 years,
then directed a private lab in Southern California for one year before returning
to San Jose to start her own business.
Consulting for defense attorneys, crime labs and the U.S. Department of
Transportation keeps Weingarten busy. She also serves as recording secretary
of the California Association of Toxicologists.
The experimental nature of toxicology attracted Keith Solomon. Solomon,
director of the Center for Toxicology, says he's always been interested in
the interaction between substances and organisms.
Solomon earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry, a master's degree
in zoology and his doctorate in entomology. He writes, researches and teaches
courses on aquatic ecosystems and waterfowl, and on the effects of "hormone
mimics" and chlorine compounds.