UMaine Engineer Serves on U.S. EPA Advisory Panel
Contact: Media contact: Darrell Donahue, Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 207-581-2728; Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777
ORONO– Darrell Donahue of Old Town, associate professor in the Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering, is serving on a scientific advisory board consultation panel on computational toxicology for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 15-member board includes scientists from universities, environmental consulting firms, industry and government.
The group met in Washington D.C. Sept. 12 to review and comment on a draft framework plan to guide EPA computational toxicology research for the next five to eight years. The subject concerns exposure and response to potential toxic chemicals and microbial pathogens.
“Most of the comments focused on processes at the level of the cell. I took a more global view by talking about the human body,” says Donahue.
Donahue has also served on a National Academy of Sciences panel on food safety. He has conducted research on the potential for microorganisms such as e. coli in food and drinking water to cause human illness.
Donahue uses computer models to study the relationship between exposure and illness. “If you get exposed to a toxic agent, what’s the probability of receiving a dose? Considering dilution and biological processes in the body, what’s the probability of a toxic endpoint?” he asks.
New information coming from molecular studies of genes and proteins will influence toxicology and the probability estimates of associated health risks, says Donahue. The goal of the EPA process is to increase the speed and accuracy of risk assessments that form the basis for environmental regulations.