Edward Calabrese

Edward J. Calabrese is an American toxicologist and professor in the department of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[1] He is the editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Dose-Response.[2]

Education

Calabrese grew up in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.[3] He received his B.S. from Bridgewater State College in 1968 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1972 and 1973, respectively.[1]

Academic career

Calabrese began working at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1976.[4]

Research

Early in his career, Calabrese conducted research on carcinogens.[3][4] However, he is best known for his research into, and championing of, hormesis,[3][4][5] which he has called "the fundamental dose-response model".[6] In 2003, Calabrese told the Wall Street Journal that the view that there is a threshold of dose below which substances have no adverse effects, as has been stated in scientific textbooks, was "an error of historic proportions."[7]

He credits his interest in hormesis to an experiment he performed as an undergraduate in 1966. In the experiment, his instructor told Calabrese and his classmates to treat a peppermint plant with a growth-inhibiting substance, Phosfon,[4] but when they did so, the plant responded by growing approximately 40% taller and leafier than plants not treated with the substance,[7] the opposite of what had been expected.[3] The class later discovered that they had accidentally used a highly diluted form of Phosfon.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Edward Calabrese". University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Dose-Response". Sage Publications. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Carroll, Christopher (Spring 2004). "The Power of Poison". UMass Amherst Magazine. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Winters, Dan (December 2002). "Is Radiation Good For You?". Discover. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Crok, Marcel (18 October 2011). "Attack on Radiation Geneticists Triggers Furor". Science Insider. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Drug model may be wrong for low doses". UPI. 27 December 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  7. 1 2 Begley, Sharon (19 December 2003). "Scientists Revisit Idea That a Little Poison Could Be Beneficial". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
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