IIT Seminar Series: Dr. Mark Harris

Tue, February 11, 2020 11:00 AM at 162 Food Safety and Toxicology Building

The Institute for Integrative Toxicology presents Dr. Mark Harris, ToxStrategies, Inc., to speak on, “Consulting - Another Path for a Toxicologist,” on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. in 162 Food Safety and Toxicology Building. The MSU BEST Program is co-sponsoring this seminar and Dr. Timothy Zacharewski will host. If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Harris, please contact Kasey Baldwin, kbaldwin@msu.edu.

Bio:
Dr. Mark Harris received both his B.S. in Biochemistry (1986) and Ph.D. in Toxicology (1990) from Texas A&M University. He also earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Southern Methodist University in 2000. Dr. Harris was employed by Maxus Energy Corporation/YPF for most of the 1990s, with his work focused on addressing legacy environmental issues associated with the former Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Company. In 2002, he transitioned to consulting, working for two prominent firms over the next 6 years. In 2008, Dr. Harris and Dr. Laurie Haws launched ToxStrategies—a toxicology consulting firm that has grown to 52 employees with five offices across the United States. The firm provides a variety of toxicology consulting services to both industry and government entities and recently launched a new division called EpidStrategies that provides epidemiology consulting services. Dr. Harris continues in a consulting role, as well as managing the day-to-day operations of the firm.

Lecture Synopsis: 
Dr. Harris will cover several topics in his presentation, including why he selected toxicology as a profession, his path from graduate school to where he is today, and the genesis of ToxStrategies. In addition, he will discuss how to know if consulting is potentially a good fit for you. Finally, he will describe some example projects that he and others at ToxStrategies have conducted, highlighting the various skill sets needed to be successful in a consulting environment.