Jalissa Nguyen, Ph.D., serves as a project toxicologist for EHS Support.
How did you become interested in this line of work?
My early childhood experiences growing up in a fenceline community inspired me to pursue a career as a toxicologist. A fenceline community is a neighborhood that is immediately adjacent to a company, military base, industrial or service center and is directly affected by the noise, odors, chemical emissions, traffic, parking, and operations of the company. In my case, the I lived adjacent to a petroleum company.
What are you currently working on?
I am working on a strategic growth project where we look at the toxicological profile of several wood-treating preservative chemicals. The goal of this project is to profile these chemicals so that we can recommend fewer toxic preservatives to our clients who are looking for replacement wood-preservative chemicals.
I also prepare toxicological dossiers for chemicals that are used in the oil-and-gas industry. The goal of these dossiers is to conduct a risk assessment for each substance that will be used in coal-seam-gas extraction activities. We do this by evaluating the physical chemical properties, the human health data, and the ecological data for each chemical in a particular dossier. After we evaluate this data, we derive toxicological reference values or TRVs to ensure that the risk to humans and ecological receptors is low.
What do you love best about your career?
What I love most about my career is that I get to help people all around the world with my work. As a toxicologist I feel like I am in invisible superhero working to help people. Oil and gas is used in so many areas of our lives. The truth is most people don’t realize or understand the research that is required to ensure that human health and ecological receptors are protected while extracting this valuable resource.
How do you enjoy spending your time?
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my family. I love to cook and bake delicious meals for my friends and family. I love trying out new recipes with various herbs and spices. My latest obsession is hot honey. It is so versatile and delicious in so many dishes.
For more on EHS Support’s Risk Assessment & Toxicology services, contact Jalissa today.
