Profile

Consulting Experience and Objectives

Since 1984, I have provided consultation to numerous clients on the health effects of a variety of chemical exposures, among these trichloroethylene,polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, environmental tobacco smoke, alcohol, Red Dye No. 3, silicones (breast implants), oral contraceptives, arsenic based wood preservatives, statins, cox-2 inhibitors, anabolic steroids, and steroids in utero. Most recently, my consulting activities have focused on endocrine disruptors, environmental exposures that affect the endocrine and/or reproductive systems. Among the consultation services I have provided are critical analyses of published studies and expert witness testimony, presentation of position papers on behalf of clients at public hearings (such as, FDA, US EPA, California EPA, and OSHA), and service as an expert witness at depositions and trials for defendants and plaintiffs. My objective is to provide the client with sound advice, insight, and testimony as to whether or not an exposure causes an adverse health effect. My conclusions on causality are based upon objective scientific criteria, such as reproducibility, strength of association, statistics, and scientific plausibility.

LinkedIn Profile

Selected Awards and Recognition

Outstanding Teacher Award for High Evaluation in M-1 Physiology 2001-2002, 2004-2005, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009) School of Medicine, Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Outstanding Teacher Award in Department of Physiology (2003), School of Medicine, Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Invited speaker: "Endocrine disruption - history, fact and fantasy of gender bending chemicals." Third Annual Stephen and Mary Krop Lectureship in Pharmacology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., November 22, 2002.
Invited speaker: "Physiological role and toxicological effects of glucocorticoids on reproduction." Continuing Education Course "The effects of non-reproductive hormones on the reproductive system, and the implications for toxicology." Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 9, 2003.
Invited speaker: Keynote Presentation - "The Endocrine System: Overview and Some Issues to Consider in Endocrine Disruption." Workshop: “Conducting and Assessing the Results of Endocrine Screening.” International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (ISRTP), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, February 20, 2008.
Invited speaker, Keynote Presentation - “The Endocrine System. Overview and Its Relevance to EDSP Screening.” (video presentation), Workshop: “The Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program: What Can Screening Results Tell Us About Potential Adverse Endocrine Effects?” International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (ISRTP), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, September 9, 2009.
Invited speaker, “Endocrine Disruption and Personal Care Products”, Environmental and Safety Assessment Workshops, 2009 Sciences Symposium. “Environmental Assessment for Personal Care Products”., Personal Care Products Council, Airport Marriott Hotel, Newark, New Jersey, October 29, 2009.
Invited speaker, “Can Tier 1 Test Data Inform Priority Setting for Human Health Risk Assessment”, Workshop on Scientific Methods for Evaluating EDSP Screening Data & Estimating Dose-Response for Endocrine Disruption, Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Assessment, Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland, December 6, 2009.
Editorial Boards of the following journals: Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 1990-1996; The Prostate, 1986 to 2000, Toxic Substances Mechanisms, 1996 to 2002; Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2002 to present.
Principal Editor, The Science World (TSW), Terrestrial Environmental Toxicology and TSW Toxicology Cluster, 2009-present.
Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 2009. (School of Medicine’s highest recognition for teaching).
Recognized for teaching accomplishments by the American Physiological Society as noted in the following article: Tipton, CM: A section devoted to profiles of renown teachers and to the recognition and accomplishments of physiology teachers within the society, Adv Physiol Educ 34: 163-166, 2010.
Invited speaker: “Endocrine Disruption and Personal Care Products”, Meeting of the International Cooperation on Consensus Regulation (ICCR) for ICCR Regulators, Invited Regulators, and Industry, Hilton Washington, DC/Rockville Hotel and Executive Center, Rockville, Maryland, July 11, 2012.
Invited speaker: “Basic Concepts of Endocrinology: Issues Relevant to Endocrine Disruptor Screening” ,Technical session entitled “Endocrine Disruption: Its Potential Impact on Green Chemistry: A Facilitated Dialog Between NGOS, Academics, Industry and Government,” 17th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, ACS Green Chemistry Institute, Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland, June 18, 2013.
Invited speaker: “Concepts of Endocrinology: Issues Relevant Endocrine Disruptor Screening”, Fall Webinar entitled “Looking Forward after 19 Years of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program”, National Capitol Area Chapter of the Society of Toxicology (NCAC-SOT), September 18, 2015.

Selected Publications
PDFs available on request.

Authorship of more than 70 papers (peer reviewed research articles, review articles, and book chapters) and books. The following are examples: Please visit my CV for a complete list.

Witorsch, R.J. (ed.): Reproductive Toxicology, Second Edition. Target Organ Toxicology Series, Hayes A.W., Thomas, J.A., and Gardner, D.E., Eds., Raven Press New York, 1995.

Sundaram, K., Witorsch, R.J.: "Toxic effects on the testes." In: Reproductive Toxicology, Second Edition. Witorsch, R.J. (ed.) Target Organ Toxicology Series, Hayes A.W., Thomas, J.A., and Gardner, D.E., Eds., Raven Press New York, 1995.

Witorsch, R.J., Kalimi, M.Y., Hubbard, J.R., "Reproductive toxic effects of alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse." In: Reproductive Toxicology, Second Edition. Witorsch, R.J. (ed.) Target Organ Toxicology Series, Hayes A.W., Thomas, J.A., and Gardner, D.E., Eds., Raven Press New York, 1995.

Witorsch, R.J. "Endocrine disruption: A critical review of environmental estrogens from a mechanistic perspective." Toxic Substance Mechanisms. 19:53-78, 2000.

Witorsch, R.J. "Low-dose in utero effects of xenoestrogens in mice and their relevance to humans: an analytical review of the literature." Food and Chemical Toxicology 40: 905-912, 2002.

Witorsch, R.J. "Endocrine disruptors: can biological effects and environmental risks be predicted?" Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 36: 118-130, 2002.

Witorsch, R.J., "Endocrine Disruption - History, Fact and Fantasy of Gender Bending Chemicals." Update, Food and Drug Law Institute. Issue 6, November/December: 32-34, 2002.

Borgert, C,J,, Lakind J.S., Witorsch R.J. "A critical review of methods for comparing estrogenic activity of endogenous and exogenous chemicals in human milk and infant formula." Environmental Health Perspectives. 111: 1020-1036 2003.

Witorsch, R.J. "Hormone replacement therapy: clinical trials and controversy." Update, Food and Drug Law Institute, Issue 3, May/June, pp. 44-47, 2003.

Cooke, PS, Holsberger DR, Witorsch RJ, Sylvester PW, Meredith JM, Treinen KA, and Chapin RE, "Thyroid hormone, glucocorticoids, and prolactin at the nexus of physiology, reproduction, and toxicology." Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.194: 309-335, 2004.

Goodman, J.E., E.E. McConnell, I.G. Sipes, R.J. Witorsch, T.M. Slayton, C.J. Yu, A.S. Lewis, L.R. Rhomberg: "An updated weight of the evidence evaluation of reproductive and developmental effects of low doses of bisphenol A." Critical Reviews in Toxicology. 36: 387-457, 2006

Goodman,, J.E., R.J. Witorsch, EE McConnell, I.G. Sipes, T.M. Slayton, C.J. Yu A.M. Franz, L.R. Rhomberg. "Weight-of-evidence evaluation of reproductive and developmental effects of low doses of bisphenol A": 2008 update. Critical Reviews in Toxicology. 39: 1-75, 2009.

Witorsch, R.J., J.A. Thomas. Personal care products and endocrine disruption: A critical review of the literature. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 40(S3): 1-30, 2010 (doi:10.3109/10408444.2010.515563). Listed among the most read articles in Critical Reviews of Toxicology.

Witorsch, R.J. Critical analysis of endocrine disruptive activity of triclosan and its relevance to human exposure through the use of personal care products. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 44 (6): 535-555, 2014 (doi: 10.3109/10408444.2014.910754).

Witorsch, R.J. Effects of elevated glucocorticoids on reproduction and development: relevance to endocrine disruptor screening. Critical Reviews in Toxicology. Published online 2/25/16 (doi:10.3109/10408444.2016.1140718).

Research, Teaching, and Scholarly Interests

For most of my academic career, my major research interest has been in the field of endocrinology, the study of hormones or chemical messengers of the body. I developed an interest in toxicology, the study of chemicals and processes involved in the production of adverse (or toxic) effects in the body, as a result of my early consulting activities. With my current research interest, endocrine disruption, the fields of endocrinology and toxicology come together. Endocrine disruption refers to the concept that environmental chemicals can interfere with the endocrine system. Since the reproductive system is dependent on hormones, endocrine disruption is frequently associated with reproductive abnormalities. Accordingly, endocrine disruption has been referred to as "gender bending." Much of the current interest in endocrine disruption focuses on the study of hormonally active substances, chemicals that interact with hormone receptors on target cells and thus mimic or antagonize hormones.

Under the auspices of the US EPA, a screening program is underway to identify chemicals and mixtures that interact primarily with estrogen, androgen, and thyroid receptors using a battery of in vivo and in vitro assays. This battery has important shortcomings and does not take into consideration certain physiological situations which may affect the outcome and interpretation of results. Among these situations are the role of stress and activation of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis. These issues are being addressed in my writings and presentations.