Collaboration, Prevention, and Service

New DTT Scientific Director Heather Patisaul is Focused on the Public Good

BY SEPPIDEH SAMI, CC

Heather Patisaul took the helm as scientific director of the NIEHS Division of Translational Toxicology (DTT). A respected neuroendocrine biologist, she was recruited in March from North Carolina State University (NCSU), where she was an associate dean for research. Patisaul sees the DTT as an ideal platform to do what inspires her the most: cross-disciplinary collaborative work and service to the community.

The DTT is a small, independent arm of the intramural research program at NIEHS that supports the National Toxicology Program (NTP), itself an interagency partnership among NIEHS, the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research.

DTT’s mission is to investigate how environmental factors influence the development and progression of disease. DTT scientists across five branches and five offices translate research findings into real-world application to help solve problems and address emerging concerns about illness and disability in humans caused by environmental exposures.

As such, the DTT is inherently collaborative with federal and state agencies, academia, and industry, and that thrills Patisaul about her new position. “You can’t really thrive and address the grand challenges without a diverse group of people at the table,” Patisaul said. “How are we going to get the plastic out of the ocean? How are we going to create safe alternative chemistries for things like plastic bottles? A single discipline like neuroscience is not going to figure that out.”

Wedded to the Earth

A daughter of a NASA engineer, Patisaul grew up in central Florida frequenting the John F. Kennedy Space Center and the nearby Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. She saw countless rocket launches, a fury of fire and sound, rise from the delicate tranquility of the refuge, and the contrast left a significant impression in her young mind about technology and the natural world.

“That is deep in my epigenome,” she said. “Ensuring the chemicals that we develop and use are truly nontoxic is certainly achievable, and is essential for the long-term health and wellbeing of ourselves, our future generations, and our planet.”

Patisaul’s academic experience and work in advancing science and innovation, as well as her collaborations with national and international expert groups related to environmental health and chemical policy, were key factors in being selected to lead DTT at a time when NIEHS is looking to forge ahead with novel ideas and precise technologies to find effective solutions.

“Dr. Patisaul’s scientific expertise and leadership skills will steer DTT toward exciting horizons, helping to address critical health challenges and research gaps,” wrote NIEHS Director Rick Woychik in the NIEHS Environmental Factor newsletter. “Her appointment marks a pivotal moment for NIEHS, reflecting our ongoing commitment to advance environmental health science through cutting-edge research and strategic collaborations.”

A career built on research collaboration

During her 18 years at NCSU, Patisaul directed research programs investigating sex-specific mechanisms by which environmental factors affect brain development and behavior (PMID: 28674520). Much of her research focused on the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA). She also oversaw grant portfolios for six departments while serving as associate dean for research at the NCSU College of Sciences, starting in 2019. She said she valued this position because of her dedication to building-up science, especially interdisciplinary science, and because of her dedication to the innovative scientists doing their best work.

“I have learned from amazing mentors and phenomenal trainees who were exceptional to work with over the years,” said Patisaul about her time at NCSU.

While at NCSU, she also worked in an interdisciplinary environment with experts such as chemists, engineers, and textile experts. The work was intellectually stimulating and rewarding because she experienced firsthand the importance of collaborative work with diverse groups while trying to solve multifaceted problems. One project established the key characteristics of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs (PMID: 31719706).

Andrea Gore, a neuroendocrinology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has known and worked with Patisaul for decades. “She is a generous collaborator and colleague,” Gore said. “While she is a meticulous scientist with great attention to detail, she also sees the big picture and knows how to effect significant progress. Dr. Patisaul has the unique ability to translate her research on EDCs into action. She has been part of teams working to inform better testing methods to identify EDCs before they reach the marketplace (PMID: 25110461); she has worked to educate international communities about the hazards of EDCs; and she has communicated to governmental agencies about regulatory policies to minimize human exposures.”

At the DTT, Patisaul said she is excited to lead her team as they continue the important work of developing alternative animal and nonanimal assays for assessing developmental neurotoxicity in collaboration with other experts and scientists through the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (PMID: 30496580). New approach methodologies, or NAMs (often coined nonanimal models but defined more broadly) are intended to replace traditional rodent guideline studies, but will take time to develop and validate, and DTT is committed to creating and sharing these tools with the broader scientific community.

A mountain to climb

With renewed commitment to addressing the many environmental factors affecting human health such as pollution, obesogenic chemicals, micro- and nanoplastics, and hazardous waste that affect human health, Patisaul is ready to explore preventative measures, too.

“Most diseases, if not all, have an environmental component,” she said. “We have a huge global plastics problem where we have microplastics in every organ of our body, and our food and household products contain obesogenic chemicals contributing to the obesity epidemic. If we can gain control over the pollution problem and be able to address the chemical components of disease to provide strategies for disease prevention, wherever possible, that is the goal of DTT.”

When she is not engaging in environmental science, she is still always engaging with the environment. She is an avid runner and kayaker. “I’m an outside kid,” said Patisaul enthusiastically. “If it’s outside, I’m going to do it.”

Seppideh Sami is a training coordinator in the Patient Support Services Department at the NIH Clinical Center. In her spare time, she enjoys studying the conservation and preservation of the natural world, especially plants.