Scientific Leadership
Michael Waters, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Waters is the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at ILS. He left the position of Assistant Director for Database Development, National Center for Toxicogenomics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), RTP, NC, where for six years he was responsible for a major initiative to develop the Chemical Effects in Biological Systems (CEBS) knowledgebase. While at the NIEHS, Dr. Waters served on the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Roadmap Working Group and the Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee for Pharmaceutical Science, Pharmacology, and Toxicology Subcommittee. He also served on the Toxicogenomics and Risk Assessment Committee of the International Programme on Chemical Safety, and the Advisory Boards of the Microarray Gene Expression Data Society.
A widely published scientist, Dr. Waters is Editor of Mutation Research-Reviews in Mutation Research and the Toxicology Series of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). He holds the rank of Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (since 1979), and at Duke University in Durham, NC (since 1992). He has served as President of the Environmental Mutagen Society, and the International Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies. He is an international scientific leader, and his databases and several of his papers are recognized as important advances that have significantly impacted the fields of genetic toxicology, carcinogenesis, toxicogenomics, and risk assessment. His scientific credentials include a B.S. in Pre-Medicine from Davidson College, Davidson, NC in 1964 and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969. His military tour was with the U.S. Army Reserve, (1969-1971) rank of captain.
Publications
Susan Borghoff, Ph.D., DABT
Divison Director - Investigative Toxicology
Dr. Borghoff joined ILS in 2006 as the Director of the Investigative Toxicology Division and oversees the Biomarkers and Kinetics program. She is an active member of the Society of Toxicology, and she was an Associate Editor for Toxicological Sciences (2003-2008) and served on the editorial board for Chemical Biological Interactions and Toxicology Letters. She has been a Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology since 1994. Dr. Borghoff has served on review panels and as a working group member for national and international organizations including USEPA, NIEHS, NCI, IPCS, ECETOC, and IARC. In 1994, Dr. Borghoff received the Frank R. Blood Award for the best paper of the year published in one of the Society of Toxicology research journals. In 2000, she received the Society of Toxicology Risk Assessment Specialty Section Award. Dr. Borghoff has over 20 years of experience in study development, design, and management of in vitro and in vivo toxicological studies; she has a broad knowledge of pharmacokinetics and metabolism of specific chemicals as a step in studying the mode-of-action by which they induce a toxic and/or carcinogenic response. Dr. Borghoff received her Ph.D. and MSPH in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Glenda Moser, Ph.D. DABT
Program Manager - Toxicology and Cancer Biology
Dr. Moser has over 20 years of experience in in vivo and in vitro studies. She has managed and successfully supervised studies evaluating gene and protein expression as early endpoint predictors of phenotypic alterations. Dr. Moser is responsible for the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the quality control and training programs in the toxicology division. She is responsible for compliance to pertinent policies, rules and regulations for the AAALAC, PHS policy, Animal Welfare Act, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). She has conducted in vivo studies under Good Laboratory Practices, Guidelines for submission to the EPA, FDA, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She also responds to the ILS and NIEHS IACUCs. Dr. Moser has extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing research studies, conducting statistical analysis, and writing protocols, and manuscripts. Dr. Moser received both her M.S. and Ph.D. in Toxicology and Pharmacology from North Carolina State University where she published seven manuscripts describing the mechanisms of mirex-induced skin tumors with mutations in the Ha-ras gene and the toxicant-induced disruption of signal transduction pathways.
Publications
Les Recio, Ph.D. DABT
Division Director - Genetic Toxicology
Dr. Recio is the Director of the Genetic Toxicology division. Dr. Recio's responsibilities at ILS include, defining the scope of work, providing oversight and organization for all studies, and training of staff in genetic toxicology methods. He provides supervision of all genetic toxicology projects through prioritization, coordination, and scheduling of all activities and deliverables including data processing and preparation of drafts of study reports, protocols, and publication. Dr. Recio develops capabilities for novel approaches for using the comet assay and micronucleus assays using rapid high-throughput approaches. He interacts with ILS staff to develop new programs and provide new avenues for research projects. Dr. Recio was appointed to the Editorial Board of Toxicological Sciences and was elected to the North Carolina Society of Toxicology Board of Councilors in 2006. After completion of a postdoctoral fellowship in 1989, Dr. Recio became a Senior Research Fellow in the Cellular and Molecular Toxicology Department of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology (CIIT). While at CIIT (1989 to 2002), Dr. Recio’s research group published more than 65 manuscripts in peer-reviewed literature in the area of molecular biology, genetic toxicology, and carcinogenesis. Dr. Recio received both his M.S. and Ph.D in Toxicology from the University of Kentucky.
Cheryl Hobbs, Ph.D.
Program Manager - Genetic Toxicolgy
Dr. Hobbs oversees the conduct of genetic toxicity testing according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and regulatory guidelines. Prior to joining ILS, Dr. Hobbs was concurrently an Assistant Investigator in the Hematology/Oncology – Oncology Section at Lankenau Hospital in suburban Philadelphia and a Scientist at the affiliated Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, where she previously did her postdoctoral training. Before obtaining her doctorate, she worked as a molecular biologist in support of drug discovery programs at Sterling Winthrop, Inc. and cancer research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Hobbs has over 30 years of diverse experience with cellular, molecular, and biochemical procedures. Her scientific expertise includes the control of gene expression and altered epigenetic regulation of chromatin during disease processes. She has been a member of several professional organizations, including the Environmental Mutagen Society and the American Association for Cancer Research, and has received research awards from federal, state and private funding agencies. Dr. Hobbs attained her M.S. and Ph.D.in Bioscience and Biotechnology from Drexel University and her B.A. in Biological Sciences and Computer Science from the University of Delaware.
Publications
Pamela Blackshear, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP
Division Director - Comparative Molecular Pathology
Dr. Blackshear has 15 years of experience as a researcher and toxicologic pathologist. Dr. Blackshear is currently responsible for overseeing the management, budget, strategic planning, operations, and scientific vision of the Pathology, Histology, and Molecular and Clinical Research Programs at ILS. She has extensive experience evaluating immunohistochemical stains, in situ hybridization, and cell growth evaluation. From 2001-2007, Dr. Blackshear served as the Molecular Biology Program Manager, coordinating and providing oversight for the molecular and cell biology techniques and training and supervising technicians on assays involving nucleic acid isolation that are conducted in the ILS molecular laboratory. Dr. Blackshear obtained her Ph.D. at North Carolina State University and her D.V.M. at Cornell University.
Publications
Theleria Hackett
Program Manager - Histology
Ms. Hackett has over 24 years of experience in all phases of histology. As the Histology Program Manager her responsibilities include, managing the histology laboratory and training her staff in all phases of histology. In the late 1980s, Ms. Hackett worked for ILS as a QA auditor on the NTP Retrospective Quality Assurance Auditing contract. Prior to rejoining ILS, Ms. Hackett was the Senior Toxicology Technologist/Acting Section (1993-1999) head for Kendall (formally Sherwood-Davis and Geck) in Florida. Ms. Hackett has a B.S. in Biology from Talladega College and has completed 90% of the course work for a M.S.in Toxicology at The American University in Washington, D.C. She received her HT (ASCP) registration in 1986. Her continuing education has included successful completion of Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgery and Techniques at the DeLand Animal Hospital in Florida.
David Allen, Ph.D.
Chief of Staff
As the Chief of Staff at ILS, Dr. Allen is responsible for leading, managing, and supervising all technical divisions and programs. He works closely with all scientific staff to support the planning and execution of ILS growth plans, and leads staff planning and employee development. Dr. Allen has over 15 years of experience in regulatory toxicology, test method validation, and in vitro biology. Prior to joining ILS, he was a toxicologist for the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, where he was responsible for evaluating toxicological and pharmacological data for investigational new drug applications. Once at ILS, Dr. Allen spent over 7 years providing contract support for the National Toxicology Program's Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM), including 5 years as the Principal Investigator. In 2008, he became the Director of the Division of Environmental and Regulatory Sciences, which included oversight of NICEATM and the Environmental Sciences program. Dave received his B.S. in Zoology from North Carolina State University, his M.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and his Ph.D. in Cell Biology also from North Carolina State University.
Steve Pilcher
Program Manager - Environmental Services Assistance Team
Mr. Pilcher manages federal and state analytical services contracts based out of the Athens, Georgia area. He provides government interface, technical, and financial management over laboratory support services and field-based operations. Mr. Pilcher has 20 years of experience with the Environmental Services Assistance Team (ESAT) Region 4 as a Quality Assurance Chemist, Field Chemist, Group Supervisor of Field Operations, Deputy ESAT Team Manager and currently ESAT Team Manager. Over the past several years, he has managed a staff of about 50 professional scientists and technicians, annually achieving high technical and financial performance ratings from the government. He supported a wide variety of private and commercial environmental services including permitting and compliance. Mr. Pilcher has six years experience in the start-up, operation, and management of analytical chemistry laboratories at toxic chemical storage depots for the U.S. Army. Mr. Pilcher received his B.S.in Chemistry in 1982 from North Georgia College and State University.
Joe Owusu-Yaw, Ph.D.
Program Manager - Environmental Assessment
Dr. Joe Owusu-Yaw is the program manager for the Environmental Assessment Team. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in toxicology, risk assessment, quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) programs, analytical chemistry, data review and validation, and methods development. He is currently the lead risk assessor and document reviewer for our environmental programs. As a toxicologist, Dr. Owusu-Yaw has managed numerous projects and performed many toxicity tests in support of risk assessments for different hazardous waste sites and programs. He has expertise in pure compound toxicity testing and analysis in support of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) registration and re-registration programs. Dr. Owusu-Yaw also has extensive experience in Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations and QA/QC procedures for field and laboratory analytical work. He holds a (Ph.D.) in Toxicology and Food Chemistry from the University of Florida.
Lori Rinckel, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM)
Dr. Rinckel has over 20 years experience in the biological and chemical sciences, including: molecular biology, microbiology, virology, genetics, and biochemistry with 12 years industry experience in biologics, from research and test method development to the formal validation and transfer of biological test methods that encompass a variety of technologies. Dr. Rinckel has 12 years experience in the biologics industry, including vaccines and plasma protein biotherapeutics. She received her B.S. in Biology from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio in 1983; her M.S. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, in 1988; and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL in 1992.