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Much of the work carried out by DTT is in support of the National Toxicology Program (NTP), an interagency partnership of the Food and Drug Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and NIEHS.

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Systems Toxicology Group

Kristen Ryan, Ph.D.
Kristen Ryan, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist, Toxicologist
Tel 984-287-3179
[email protected]
P.O. Box 12233
Mail Drop K2-12
Durham, NC 27709

Kristen Ryan, Ph.D., DABT, is a toxicologist in the Systems Toxicology Branch of the Division of Translational Toxicology (DTT) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. As a study scientist, Ryan serves as a project leader for the toxicologic and carcinogenic assessment of agents of interest to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) as well as a subject matter expert in multidisciplinary scientific teams comprised of in-house and external scientists evaluating studies on selected chemicals. She is the currently the project leader for hazard identification and characterization studies of flame retardants [e.g., tris(chloropropyl)phosphate], botanical dietary supplements [e.g., echinacea],and alkylbenzene compounds. Ryan also is a project coordinator for zebrafish-related research (SEAZIT) with the aim to enable the broader adoption of zebrafish for toxicological screening.

Ryan's research interests include examining the relationship between exposure to various chemicals in the environment and developmental neurotoxicity or neurodegeneration. She participates in activities to enhance neurotoxicity testing within the DTT through the refinement of animal models as well as evaluation various new approach methodologies for the prioritization and prediction of potential neurotoxic agents.

Ryan received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2004 and in 2012 Ryan obtained her Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Colorado investigating the role of mitochondrial oxidative stress and dysfunction in progressive neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Upon completion of her graduate work, she obtained a post-doctoral IRTA fellowship at the DTT which was completed in 2016.

Selected Publications