Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical, or biological agents on people, animals, and the environment. The Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology provides a comprehensive program in course work and research training to prepare prospective toxicologists and environmental health scientists for careers in academia, government, and industry.
Areas of research excellence within the Department include elucidating the relationships among cell signaling processes and toxicant/stressor-induced disease and toxicity, establishing mechanisms of system-specific toxicity, using physiological and genomic approaches to understand differences in species and individual susceptibility to environmental contaminants, and unraveling gene-environment interactions. The Department is located on the University’s technology-based Centennial Campus. Based on a strong history and foundation of research funding from the National Institutes of Health, graduate degrees in toxicology were first awarded at NC State University in 1979. Today, the Department is home to 12 core faculty members, 18 associate faculty members, and 23 adjunct faculty members that provide training opportunities at neighboring institutions, including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
The Department of Environmental & Molecular Toxicology continues to define graduate training in toxicology. Graduate Programs leading to masters (MTOX and MS) and doctoral degrees (PhD) provide students the opportunity to pursue study that will prepare them for a range of career paths. The Department is highly committed to postdoctoral research training and postdoctoral career development. PhD students and postdoc are awarded traineeships through various sources, including an NIEHS training grant on “Molecular Pathways to Pathogenesis in Toxicology” and a USEPA cooperative training agreement. Students are provided a generous stipend and participate in the Graduate Student Support Plan which covers tuition, fees, and health insurance. Unique to a handful of universities, the Toxicology Extension program provides a venue for students to address current trends and emerging issues in human health risk and environmental quality through its outreach programs. Graduates of our program are primed for leadership roles in academia, government, and industry. Our alumni are a testament to the Department’s success.
Please tour our website to gain a full appreciation of the research, academic, and extension activities of the Department.