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CHE Partner Spotlight: A Small Dose of Empowerment
Steve Gilbert, PhD, DABT, Director and Founder of the Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders and Managing Editor of Toxipedia.org
 The hardest part of being a neurotoxicologist – someone who studies the effects of toxins on the brain – is not the studying-the-brain part.
At least, not for longtime CHE Partner Steven G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT, Director and Founder of the Seattle, WA-based Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders (INND) and Managing Editor of Toxipedia.org. For Dr. Gilbert, the hard part is figuring out how to manage his time.
No longer active in research, he works on different ways to explain to the public what is already known about how environmental toxins affect our health.
For example, in 2006, he created Toxipedia, a Web-based encyclopedia of toxicology that uses modified open-source wiki technology to make information more freely available. He writes and publishes papers (most recently, a book review in Environmental Health Perspectives). He is working on the second edition of his book, A Small Dose of Toxicology: The Health Effects of Common Chemicals (Informa HealthCare, 2004).
“There are a million things to do,” he said in a telephone interview, explaining his ongoing struggle with time management. “What’s the most effective way to use your time? If you really want to change what’s going on, what’s the best way to do that?”
The hardest part of being a neurotoxicologist – someone who studies the effects of toxins on the brain – is not the studying-the-brain part.
At least, not for longtime CHE Partner Steven G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT, Director and Founder of the Seattle, WA-based Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders (INND) and Managing Editor of Toxipedia.org. For Dr. Gilbert, the hard part is figuring out how to manage his time.
No longer active in research, he works on different ways to explain to the public what is already known about how environmental toxins affect our health.
For example, in 2006, he created Toxipedia, a Web-based encyclopedia of toxicology that uses modified open-source wiki technology to make information more freely available. He writes and publishes papers (most recently, a book review in Environmental Health Perspectives). He is working on the second edition of his book, A Small Dose of Toxicology: The Health Effects of Common Chemicals (Informa HealthCare, 2004).
“There are a million things to do,” he said in a telephone interview, explaining his ongoing struggle with time management. “What’s the most effective way to use your time? If you really want to change what’s going on, what’s the best way to do that?”
“A bit of a random walk”
When Gilbert was a kid, he had no idea what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“Figuring that out was a bit of a random walk,” he said. “I graduated from college with a degree in electrical engineering, got a job working with computers, and realized I wanted to be working in a lab.”
So he went back to school and got his PhD in toxicology. (“The fun thing about toxicology is there’s a lot of different aspects to it, from biology -- particularly the nervous system-- to policy.”)
After that, he worked in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He also spent a number of years on the faculty of the University of Washington.
“Professors spend a lot of time learning more and more about less and less. I felt we had enough information about lead and mercury to make good policy. My real passion was for prevention. How do we make better decisions given the information we have?”
His passion for prevention entwines with and is nourished by his interest in ethics, particularly child ethics.
“Children have a right to an environment in which they can reach and maintain their full potential,” he said. “The quote-unquote adults in this society have an obligation to make sure children have that kind of environment.
A small dose of knowledge
Over ten years ago, Dr. Gilbert founded the Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders to fill what he saw as a major knowledge gap. While there were – and still are – many organizations focused on cancer, diabetes, learning disabilities and other health endpoints, there were none focused on neurotoxicology.
Originally, the Institute engaged in research projects and education programs. Now, the Institute’s major endeavors are educational and include: - Toxipedia “A wiki-website created to bring experts and lay people together to lessen the information gap between those with knowledge on environmental and public health and those that need the information to lead healthier lives. This wiki is on its way to becoming a resource center which provides a place for people to discuss topics, find educational materials, and obtain accurate information.”
- A Small Dose Of Toxicology: The companion website to his book, with complementary resources, RSS feed, current events, and more.
- World Library of Toxicology: Under construction. In January 2009, Toxipedia was awarded the right to manage the National Library of Medicine's World Library of Toxicology (WLT), a repository of public health links from over forty countries.
- IPMopedia: “Free and up-to-date integrated pest management advice direct from green gardening experts.” Funded in part by King County of Washington State.
- Washington Nuclear Museum and Educational Center: A joint project of INND/Toxipedia and Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Dedicated to providing comprehensive information on the role that Washington State played in the age of nuclear proliferation in 20th-century America.”
- Healthy World Theater: “To promote awareness and understanding through the arts to create a more healthy and peaceful world.”
A common thread through INND’s projects is technology. In a recent grant proposal, Dr. Gilbert hopes to use Toxipedia and wiki technology to make study information available to study participants as it is collected, to encourage people to engage with the researchers.
“I’m really interested in how we can make better use of wiki technology.”
Another new technology the Institute makes use of is Twitter, a Web-based application with which users can send short messages (“tweets”) and subscribe to other users’ Twitter streams. If you subscribe to Toxipedia’s Twitter stream, you will receive “a daily small dose of toxicology, science, or history.”
“Driving change worldwide”
One thing that Dr. Gilbert finds encouraging is the increased effort on a national level in the U.S. to think about a more robust chemical policy. The European REACH legislation, he said, “is really driving change worldwide.”
That said, we are still a long way from a world in which all children grow up in a potential-nourishing environment.
“There is not enough transparency about what we’re exposed to,” he continued. “That’s got to be changed.
“The ideal outcome of my work is having people better understand the consequences of chemical exposures in their everyday lives. I want to empower people to make better decisions for themselves and their families.”
Shelby Gonzalez is a writer specializing in science and the environment. She welcomes comments and inquiries at shelbygonzalez@gmail.com.
Resources
www.asmalldoseof.org -- "A Small Dose of Toxicology"
www.toxipedia.org -- Connecting science and people
www.ipmopedia.org -- Connecting gardeners and experts
www.wltox.org -- World Library of Toxicology
www.wanmec.org -- Washington Nuclear Museum and Educational Center
www.healthyworldtheater.org -- Connecting art, writing and science
www.twitter.com/toxipedia -- follow Dr. Gilbert on Twitter
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