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Dr Dori Germolec, PhD

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Dr. Germolec currently serves as the Immunology discipline leader for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Division of Translation Toxicology (DTT) and oversees efforts to design, interpret and report studies that assess the potential for chemicals to modulate immune responses. She is particularly interested in persistent immunologic effects following in utero exposure to xenobiotics, autoimmune disease and the development and application of in vitro methods to assess immune function. Dr. Germolec serves as a project leader for toxicology studies and is spearheading DTT research efforts to evaluate the health effects of exposure to molds. Dr. Germolec served as the group leader of the Environmental Immunology Laboratory within the Laboratory of Molecular Toxicology at NIEHS from 1995–2005. Her research interests included: investigating the interaction between environmental, industrial, and pharmacologic agents and the immune system, and defining the cellular and molecular role of cytokines in toxicity in a variety of organ systems including the skin, lung, and liver. Her laboratory studies focused on establishing the relationship between alterations in levels of growth promoting cytokines and arsenic-induced carcinogenicity and dermatotoxicity. More recently, her efforts have been centered on alternative methods to investigate immune suppression and hypersensitivity.  She has been actively working with federal partners to investigate the applicability domain of in vitro methods to assess dermal sensitization.  Dr. Germolec is a collaborator on efforts to develop in vitro models in to evaluate immune suppression in human peripheral blood leukocytes and studies investigating immune effects following exposure to polyaromatic hydrocarbons and COVID susceptibility are ongoing. Dr. Germolec also serves as the project officer on multiple interagency agreements with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health as part of collaborative efforts within the National Toxicology Program to examine human exposure and health effects in occupational settings.  Her scientific investigations have yielded more than 200 publications in various areas of toxicology. 

Member Since 1991