UC Santa Cruz Environmental Toxicology Department Hosts Inaugural Lecture On “frontiers In Toxicology” On October 5

SANTA CRUZ, CA–"Frontiers in Toxicology," an inaugural lecture to celebrate the establishment of the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will feature presentations by two distinguished scientists on Thursday, October 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. The event will take place at the Theater Arts Second Stage and is free and open to the public.

Daniel Koshland Jr., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at UC Berkeley, will speak on "Stereoselectivity in Enzymology and Toxicology." Ellen Silbergeld, professor of epidemiology, pathology, and toxicology at the University of Maryland Medical School, will speak on "Mercury Poisoning and Malaria: New Connections Between Ancient Diseases."

Koshland has made innumerable contributions to science and has received many awards, including the National Medal of Science. His induced fit theory is one of the most important conceptual advances in biochemistry and has led to new understandings of enzyme action and the control and regulation of biological systems. He continues his work on the mechanisms by which cells receive and respond to external cues and has shown that bacteria have a rudimentary memory that affects their responses to their environment.

Koshland has served on the councils of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as president of the American Society of Biological Chemists, and as editor of the journal Science.

Silbergeld is a recognized leader in the interdisciplinary fields of moecular epidemiology and mechanistic toxicology. Her specific research interests include toxicology and epidemiology of lead, mercury, and dioxin, with an emphasis on effects of these agents on the immune system, nervous system, and reproduction and development.

Silbergeld has received several awards for her scientific and public policy work, including a MacArthur "genius" Fellowship in 1993. She has served on many national and international scientific and expert panels, including those for state and federal governments, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank, and as chief of the Neurotoxicology Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.