ILSI Research Foundation
Workshop: Evaluating the Human Relevance of Modes of Action in Animals
Vicki Dellarco
Dr. Vicki Dellarco received her Ph.D. in genetics from Iowa State University in 1980, and then joined the EPA’s Office of Research and Development. She has been with EPA for 26 years, participating in the development of risk assessment guidelines and methodology, as well as the conduct of specific health risk assessments on environmental chemicals. Dr. Dellarco is a senior science advisor in the Health Effects Division in the Office of Pesticide Programs, where she has worked on several major activities including the development of common mechanism policy decisions, cumulative risk assessment methods and guidance, as well as the development of toxicity testing strategies for improving and refining approaches to health risk assessment. Dr. Dellarco serves as a WHO member of the Joint Meeting of Pesticide Residues, as a member of EPA’s Health Oversight Committee of the Risk Assessment Forum, and has been involved in ILSI/RSI and IPCS efforts to develop a Human Relevance/Mode of Action Framework for Cancer Risk Assessment. She also has presented teleseminars on the application of the Human Relevance MOA Framework to the SRA Dose-response Specialty Group and to an SOT Specialty Section.
Penny Fenner-Crisp
Dr. Fenner-Crisp served as the Executive Director of the ILSI Risk Science Institute (RSI) from December 2000 until August 2004, following a 22-year career at US EPA. Her duties at EPA included nearly 12 years serving in several capacities as the Senior Science Advisor, Deputy Director and Director of the Health Effects Division of the Office of Pesticide Programs. Earlier assignments included serving as the Director of the Health and Environmental Review Division (HERD) of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and Senior Toxicologist in the Health Effects Branch of the Office of Drinking Water (ODW). She played key roles in the development of many EPA risk assessment policies and practices primarily related to human health and was involved in the activities of several international organizations as an Expert on several WHO IPCS working groups, as a member of the WHO Expert Panel of the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues for nine years and as the lead U.S. Delegate to several workgroups of the OECD test guidelines program. In April, 2000, she received the Agency’s highest award, the Fitzhugh Green Award, for her contributions on behalf of EPA to its international activities.
Dr. Fenner-Crisp received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and is a member and former officer of several professional scientific societies including of the Society of Toxicology and the Society for Risk Analysis. She has been a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology since 1984 and served on its Board of Directors from 2001-2005. She served on EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Methods Validation Subcommittee from 2001-2004 and the Strategic Science Team of the American Chemistry Council’s Long-range Research Initiative from 2002-2005. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest Center for Environmental Science and Public Policy, the Drinking Water Committee of EPA’s Science Advisory Board and EPA's National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory Committee. She also is a member of the National Academies of Sciences expert group charged with conducting a review of the Worker and Public Health Activities Program administered by the Department of Energy and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Bette Meek
Ms. Bette Meek manages the Existing Substances Division in the Safe Environments Programme of Health Canada. Her responsibilities relate primarily to development and implementation of process and methodology for the assessment of the effects on human health of Existing Substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). This mandate was expanded in the most recent renewal of the legislation to include a requirement to systematically set priorities for assessment and testing from among all 23,000 of the Existing Substances in Canada by September, 2006. Her team has received the highest honour possible from the Canadian Federal Government, namely a Public Service award for their contribution internationally to risk assessment.
Ms. Meek has extensive experience in the evaluation and development of methodology for assessment of health-related data on environmental contaminants, acting as an advisor to several international organizations and authoring over 100 scientific publications in this area. She has been actively involved in the development of weight of evidence frameworks for mode of action based on consideration of mechanistic data in risk assessment. She received her M.Sc. in Toxicology (with Distinction) from the University of Surrey is a member of the Society of Toxicology of Canada.
Dorothy Patton
Dr. Dorothy E. Patton’s 24-year tenure with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency included positions as Director of the Office of Science Policy, Executive Director of the EPA Science Policy Council and Executive Director of the EPA Risk Assessment Forum. In these positions, she was responsible for developing and implementing risk assessment policies and practices, environmental research planning and prioritization, and long-range strategic planning, all in line with Congressional mandates. Since her July 2000 retirement from EPA, Dr. Patton has worked as a consultant with the Risk Science Institute of the International Life Sciences Institute and taught as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. She also leads workshops for government agencies, professional societies, and other organizations.
Dr.Patton began her EPA career as an attorney in EPA’s Office of General Counsel, where she worked on air, pesticides, and toxic substances issues. She holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. Dr. Patton’s teaching experience includes an assistant professorship (biology) at York College of the City University of New York, seminars and training workshops for risk assessment professionals, and courses on Environmental Risk Assessment. Recent honors include a University of Chicago Distinguished Alumna Award, an EPA Distinguished Career Award, and appointment to the National Research Council Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology.