Thomas O. Brock, III, Ph.D., DABT, the former director of the Duke Toxicology Program, is retiring after 29 years with Duke.
Tom graduated from The Virginia Military Institute with a B.S. in Biology in 1972. After four years of active military service, he attended Wake Forest University School of Medicine where he graduated in 1980 with a Ph.D. in Anatomy and Basic Medical Sciences. He completed post-doctoral studies in toxicology at The University of North Carolina School of Medicine and with the U.S. EPA Neurotoxicology Research Division.
Brock joined the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine faculty in 1991 to work with Woodhall Stopford, M.D., in the Duke Toxicology Program. The program performs toxicological risk assessments on tens of thousands of arts products for the Art and Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI), an international association of 200 art, craft and creative material manufacturers which seeks to promote safety in art and creative products through its certification and labeling program.
The certification and labeling program is based on the Duke Toxicology risk assessments and Brock worked closely with the industry and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to prevent children and adults using these arts materials from exposures to toxic materials. From 2000 to 2012 he was the consulting toxicologist for the Cobalt Development Institute focusing on the human health and regulatory issues of metals exposure at the international level. He returned to become director of the Duke Toxicology Program from 2013 to 2020. Brock also was engaged in research and resident education.
"His dedication to the program and commitment to the integrity of the risk assessment process to ensure product safety is his legacy that continues forward," shares Dennis Darcey, M.D., MSPH, division chief of occupational and environmental medicine. "Best wishes to Tom and his family in a well-deserved retirement. We will truly miss you as a colleague."