By Morgan Roan
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is among the first schools in the
nation to offer a graduate course on using cutting-edge
technology to determine the ways chemicals affect the body.
“The University of Georgia and Colorado State are the only
universities training students to apply pharmacokinetic
models,” said Jeffrey Fisher, head of the environmental health
science department in the University of Georgia College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The physiologically-based modeling class focuses on where
chemicals go in the body and how fast they’re metabolized. The
equations predict the uptake, distribution and elimination of
chemicals from the bodies of humans or laboratory animals.
“The formulas are used for risk assessment and to establish
exposure guidelines for use by federal government agencies and
private industry,” Fisher said.
Some models taught in the class were developed for pesticides
commonly used in farming and household chemicals.
“This is a quantitative toxicology class versus a descriptive,
memorization-type class,” Fisher said. “Students learn what
doses affect the organs as a result of exposure due to
inhalation, contact by the skin or ingestion.”
Students can learn how to use these models to assess health
risks in sites around the state. Guest speakers from federal
agencies visit to discuss real-world applications.
The class is made up of pharmacology, toxicology and
environmental health science students.
(Morgan Roan is a student writer with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
