Emerging and Legacy Organic Pollutants and the Environmental Connection with Human Health

Donald G. Patterson Jr., Ph.D.
AXYS Analytical Services Ltd., Jasper, Georgia, and Sidney, British Columbia

Don Patterson has extensive experience with human biomonitoring methods and epidemiologic studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Arizona State University and he has authored and co-authored over 400 journal articles as well as 10 book chapters. At Axys Analytical he works with governmental organizations, universities and other academic organizations in their biomonitoring programs and directs the development and application of new methods for environmentally significant compounds in human tissues.

Don joined the Toxicology Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1979. He was a member of the Senior Biomedical Research Service within the Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch within the Division of Laboratory Sciences at CDC until his recent retirement. He and his team’s work included the development and application of new methods for sensitive, specific, fast, and accurate quantitative analysis of environmentally significant compounds in human tissues. Don has applied these methods (in collaboration with State Health Departments; other U.S. Government Agencies; and Government Agencies of other Countries) to a large number of epidemiologic health assessment studies including among others: Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam veteran ground troops; U.S. Air Force Operation Ranch Hand Vietnam Veterans (actually sprayed Agent Orange); Times Beach, Missouri dioxin exposure; dioxin half-life studies in humans; various occupational exposures and cancer mortality; Seveso, Italy dioxin exposure; herbicide sprayers; endometriosis and breast cancer in women; Great Lakes fish eaters exposure; residents exposed to incineration products; and pesticide exposure to farmers and their families.

He has received numerous awards, including: The U.S. Public Health Service’s Superior Service Award for “Outstanding Scientific Research which Substantially Contributed to a National Public Health Policy for Dioxin Exposure”; the Secretary of Health and Human Services Special Recognition Award to his research group “In Recognition of a Significant Public Health Accomplishment and an Extraordinary Group Effort in the Development of a Viable Method for Measuring Dioxin in Human Serum”; an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) in Environmental Chemistry which was presented by the Faculty of Chemistry at Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; and the 2001 Harvey W. Wiley Award for “Significant Contributions to Analytical Science Through Your Work in Developing State-of-the-Art Methods for Determining Ultra-Trace Concentrations of Toxic Environmental Contaminants” presented by AOAC International.