The Toxicology Research Center facilitates multidisciplinary research and teaching in toxicology and serves as a major resource for industry, government, community agencies, associations, the public and other universities providing educational analytical and basic research, as well as high quality occupational and environmental health and safety training.

The Director of the Center is Paul J. Kostyniak, PhD, DABT, and the Assistant Director is James R. Olson, PhD.  The Director of the Analytical and Research Facility is Richard D. Fitzpatrick .  The Director of the Worker training Program is Joseph A. Syracuse, PhD. 

The Toxicology Research Center was established in 1985 as one of the original multidisciplinary Centers of the State University of New York at Buffalo.  The Center has continued its original objective to facilitate multidisciplinary research and teaching in toxicology and to serve as a major resource for University faculty and students, industry and the public.  The Center supports the efforts of university scientists from pharmacology, toxicology, medicine, biology, microbiology, chemistry, geology, engineering, clinical laboratory silences and social and preventive medicine.  Additionally, there are center members from local industry and other colleges and universities.

The Center provides numerous drug and environmental assays and toxicological models, and designs programs for industry to protect workers and the environment from the dangers of toxic substances.  The Center supports an active industrial research and development program in which businesses can take advantage of opportunities of Center expertise in their sponsored research, toxicity tests, and employee training.

The Analytical Laboratory in Farber Hall provides support to the on-going research projects of the Center as well as other university and industrial interested parties.  The laboratory support involves the development of new analytical techniques, analyses of samples and analyses of data.  All procedures are controlled by a strict QC/QA program.  Some of the techniques available Include GC with EC, FID, PID and Hall detection, HPLC with diode array, fluorescence and electrochemical detection, GC-MS, AAS, mercury determinations, high temperatures GPC for absolute molecular weight and molecular weight distribution determinations.  This laboratory has extensive experience determining specific congeners of PCBs and pesticides at ppb levels In biological samples.  The Analytical Laboratory participates in nationwide proficiency programs for PCBs, pesticides and mercury.

The Biodegradation Laboratory in Farber Hall has a full range of capabilities for studying the mechanisms of degradation of polyolefins, halogenated organics and PAHs.  An OWS in-lab composting facility is available, capable of running 32 reactors simultaneously, with synchronous sampling of volatile organics and on-line GC measurement.

The Cellular and Molecular Toxicology Laboratory is a multi-user facility located in Cary Hall, with state-of-the-art instrumentation for conducting cellular, biochemical and molecular studies.  New instrumentation in this shared facility includes the following: a Beckman L-70 ultracentrifuge, Beckman Avanti high speed centrifuge, PTI spectrofluorometer, Wallac Tri/Lux Microbeta Scintillation Chemiluminescence Counter, Dynatech MRX-HD microplate reader, CyloFluor II fluorescent plate reader, Bio-Rad gel doc 1000 fluorescent gel documentation system, Bio-Rad model GS-525 molecular imager system, and Bio-Rad GS-700 densitometer.

Finally, the Center's Professional Education Division continues to be successful in attracting both state and federal monies to provide certification training for inspectors, workers and regulators involved in hazardous waste, radiological waste, and a wide variety of other safety occupational & environmental health and safety training.  Courses are conducted at our facilities or, at the client's site using state-of-the-art equipment.  This provides a direct tie to our Center's involvement in solving community problems in Western New York.

© 1999-2007, Toxicology Research Center, SUNY at Buffalo

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