Expert Details
Toxicology & Product Safety, Regulatory Affairs (Agricultural Biotechnology & Chemical Products), Product Liability Litigation Support, Environmental Risk Assessment
ID: 740769
Missouri, USA
Expert built an extensive career at a major global agricultural and chemical products company, progressing through regulatory affairs and scientific affairs leadership roles focused on biotechnology crop approvals before advancing into senior issues management and litigation support positions. In these roles, he led the company's global engagement on the safety of a widely used herbicide, developing scientific communications addressing international regulatory assessments and serving as the company's designated technical representative in depositions and trial testimony. He has testified in multiple trials involving both herbicide and industrial chemical (PCB) product liability litigation, addressing toxicology, chemistry, regulatory history, and corporate communications with regulators and customers.
Earlier in Expert's career, he conducted environmental risk assessments and developed regulatory standards for state and federal government agencies, including work on drinking water infrastructure for U.S. military installations and freshwater quality standards for a state environmental protection agency. Expert has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on toxicology, environmental chemistry, and agricultural product safety topics, and currently operates an independent consulting practice.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 2000 | Degree: PhD | Subject: Toxicology | Institution: Texas A&M University |
| Year: 1993 | Degree: BS | Subject: Biology | Institution: University of Missouri |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2024 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Owner | Department: |
Responsibilities:Private consultant on topics related to product safety. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2020 to 2024 | Employer: Monsanto/Bayer Crop Science | Title: Senior Regulatory Issues Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Managed complex scientific and reputational issues spanning product stewardship to product liability claims.• Represented the company in depositions as the "Person Most Knowledgeable" on glyphosate safety, surfactant safety, product impurities, product history, and company interactions with customers and regulators. • Represented the company in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) product liability litigation addressing PCB toxicology, chemistry, regulatory controls, and company history. • Testified in 6 trials across 25 days in matters involving glyphosate and/or PCBs. • Coordinated the company's response to proposed state-level regulations lacking reliable scientific rationale, including Proposition 65 listings/prioritizations. • Served as toxicologist for a team managing cleanup of a shuttered ethanol facility that had mismanaged excess pesticide-treated seed. • Engaged with regulators and elected officials at state and federal levels on product safety, including testimony at public hearings. • Published critiques of research making misleading safety claims about glyphosate. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2018 to 2020 | Employer: Monsanto/Bayer Crop Science | Title: Global Health and Safety Issues Management Lead | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Served as central global contact for product safety inquiries, engaging with global media, customers, food companies, dietitians, and university researchers on glyphosate safety.• Developed public-facing scientific materials addressing flaws in international regulatory (IARC) glyphosate monograph assessments. • Represented the company in depositions as "Person Most Knowledgeable" on glyphosate safety and history. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2014 to 2018 | Employer: Monsanto/Bayer Crop Science | Title: Scientific Affairs Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Developed scientific assessments of a major 2015 international regulatory monograph on glyphosate and authored a comprehensive public document on glyphosate benefits and safety.• Provided scientific guidance for public outreach materials addressing the monograph and resulting Proposition 65 listing. • Led stakeholder engagement on seed treatment chemistries with customers, media, researchers, food companies, and dietitians. • Advised internal teams on regulatory strategies for product registrations and critiqued scientific publications concerning product safety. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2007 to 2014 | Employer: Monsanto/Bayer Crop Science | Title: Biotechnology Regulatory Affairs Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Oversaw global import and cultivation approvals for a drought-tolerant corn product, the first biotechnology-derived stress tolerance trait.• Led the team that obtained USDA deregulation for an insect-protected soybean product in under one year, a 26-month improvement over prior USDA timelines. • Conducted scientific outreach with customers, university researchers, media, and the public regarding GMO crops. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2004 to 2007 | Employer: Tetra Tech, Inc. | Title: Senior Environmental Scientist | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Conducted human health and environmental risk assessments of petroleum-contaminated sites for the U.S. Air Force.• Developed 5-year drinking water infrastructure management plans for U.S. Air Force bases to support mission readiness. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2001 to 2004 | Employer: California Environmental Protection Agency | Title: Senior Environmental Scientist | Department: State Water Resources Control Board |
Responsibilities:• Led efforts to correct erroneous beneficial use designations resulting from unintended Proposition 65 consequences.• Conducted technical reviews of wastewater discharge permit appeals for scientific accuracy and compliance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and federal Clean Water Act. • Developed freshwater standards for heavy metals to protect human health and the environment. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2000 to 2001 | Employer: University of California - Davis | Title: Postdoctoral Researcher, Protein Chemistry | Department: |
Responsibilities:Researched methods for sequencing proteins at attomolar concentrations. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1995 to 1996 | Employer: University of Missouri | Title: Environmental Scientist, Environmental Health and Safety | Department: |
Responsibilities:Conducted hazardous waste investigations and safety inspections at university laboratories and farms. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1994 to 1994 | Employer: Missouri Department of Conservation | Title: Research Assistant | Department: |
Responsibilities:Collected insect and sediment samples from newly formed wetlands along the Missouri River following the 1993 flood to identify high wildlife habitat value. |
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Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert has extensive experience serving as a corporate representative and technical witness in high-profile product liability litigation involving agricultural and industrial chemical products. Expert has testified in 6 trials for matters involving glyphosate-based herbicides and/or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and has been repeatedly designated as the "Person Most Knowledgeable" in depositions addressing glyphosate safety, surfactant safety, product impurities, product history, PCB toxicology and chemistry, and the company's regulatory history and communications with regulators and customers. |
Career Accomplishments
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| 14 Peer-Reviewed Publications spanning topics including glyphosate safety and pesticide regulatory science, drought-tolerant biotech crop characterization and environmental risk assessment, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) toxicology and environmental fate, and food/agricultural chemical safety, published in journals including Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Animal Science, Advances in Nutrition, Plant, Cell & Environment, Crop Science, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Environmental Science and Technology, and Toxicological Sciences. |