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 emeritus 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 no 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]

[8]

References
  1. "Edward Calabrese". University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. "Dose-Response". Sage Publications. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  3. O'Carroll, Christopher (Spring 2004). "The Power of Poison". UMass Amherst Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  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. Begley, Sharon (19 December 2003). "Scientists Revisit Idea That a Little Poison Could Be Beneficial". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  8. "Turning to scientific outliers, EPA says a little radiation may be healthy". CBS News.
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