Jeffrey D. Laskin, Ph.D.

Dr. Jeffrey D. Laskin is a Professor and Chief of the Division of Toxicology in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS).   He is director of the Toxicology Division at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), a joint program of Rutgers University and UMDNJ and is Deputy Director of the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology at UMDNJ and Rutgers University.  He is Director of the UMDNJ/Rutgers University CounterACT Research Center of Excellence, a major White House initiated national security priority to expedite research on the most promising scientific discoveries that would lead to improved medical countermeasures to protect Americans against a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attack.  He is a member of the NJ Department of Homeland Security Preparedness College and is a founding member of the Executive Committee of the University Center for Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response of RWJMS-UMDNJ, Rutgers University, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.  In 2007 he was an invited to presenter at NATO’s initiative on “Defense Against the Effects of Chemical Hazards’ in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dr. Laskin received a B.A. in Chemistry and Biology from New York University, NY and a Ph.D. in Experimental Therapeutics from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, SUNY at Buffalo, NY.  He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Institute for Cancer Research at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in NY before joining the faculty the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.  Dr. Laskin has served on numerous study sections for the National Institutes of Health and was an invited participant at the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders Roundtable on Wound Healing.  He is a member of the Graduate School at Rutgers University, the Pharmacology graduate program at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Dr. Laskin also serves as a member of the corporation of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Dr. Laskin has served as an editor on over 20 journals that deal with pharmacology, toxicology and cancer research.  With over 150 peer-reviewed publications, a book, numerous book chapters and editorials, he has been recognized as one of the most cited scientists in the field of chemical toxicology.  His research focuses on mechanisms of chemical-induced skin, lung and liver toxicity. He is an expert in phototoxicology and redox chemistry. Dr. Laskin has been continuously funded by the NIH for the last 25 years and has served as PI on numerous RO1’s, as a Program Project PI and as a Center Director. Currently, he is completing research on exposure and health effects of chemical warfare agents and is working to identify countermeasures to sulfur mustard exposure.

Selected Publications:

Black, A. T., L. B. Joseph, et al. (2010). "Role of MAP kinases in regulating expression of antioxidants and inflammatory mediators in mouse keratinocytes following exposure to the half mustard, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol.

Gardner, C. R., J. P. Gray, et al. (2010). "Potential role of caveolin-1 in acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol.

Jan, Y. H., D. E. Heck, et al. (2010). "Selective Targeting of Selenocysteine in Thioredoxin Reductase by the Half Mustard 2-Chloroethyl Ethyl Sulfide in Lung Epithelial Cells." Chem Res Toxicol.

Mishin, V., J. P. Gray, et al. (2010). "Application of the Amplex red/horseradish peroxidase assay to measure hydrogen peroxide generation by recombinant microsomal enzymes." Free Radic Biol Med.

Shakarjian, M. P., D. E. Heck, et al. (2010). "Mechanisms mediating the vesicant actions of sulfur mustard after cutaneous exposure." Toxicol Sci 114(1): 5-19.

Young, S., K. Fabio, et al. (2010). "Peripheral site acetylcholinesterase inhibitors targeting both inflammation and cholinergic dysfunction." Bioorg Med Chem Lett.

Sunil, V. R., K. J. Patel, et al. (2009). "Pulmonary effects of inhaled diesel exhaust in aged mice." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 241(3): 283-93.

Black, A. T., J. P. Gray, et al. (2008). "Increased oxidative stress and antioxidant expression in mouse keratinocytes following exposure to paraquat." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 231(3): 384-92.

Black, A. T., J. P. Gray, et al. (2008). "Distinct effects of ultraviolet B light on antioxidant expression in undifferentiated and differentiated mouse keratinocytes." Carcinogenesis 29(1): 219-25.

Black, A. T., J. P. Gray, et al. (2008). "UVB light upregulates prostaglandin synthases and prostaglandin receptors in mouse keratinocytes." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 232(1): 14-24.

Chen, L. C., J. D. Laskin, et al. (2008). "Regulation of TREM expression in hepatic macrophages and endothelial cells during acute endotoxemia." Exp Mol Pathol 84(2): 145-55.

Fakhrzadeh, L., J. D. Laskin, et al. (2008). "Regulation of caveolin-1 expression, nitric oxide production and tissue injury by tumor necrosis factor-alpha following ozone inhalation." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 227(3): 380-9.