Why Model?

Our group uses models and simulations to investigate chemical fate in the environment and organims.

There are tens of thousands of industrial chemicals currently in commerce. Unlike pharmaceuticals and pesticides-- intentionally "active" substances-- the majority of industrial chemicals were never carefully evaluated to understand their toxicity, bioaccumulation potential, or persistence.

As more and more toxic environmental contaminants continue to "emerge" into public and scientific awareness, we have come to understand that a chemical-by-chemical approach to experimentally evaluate all of these potentially problematic substances is simply not feasible. It will require too many resources, from human labor to animals to time. Time during which exposures and associated impacts can continue to occur.

Models are powerful tools. When properly validated, they provide a means to conduct an essentially unlimited number of virtual "in silico" experiments, screening hundreds to thousands of chemicals and providing valuable guidance for more targeted and useful follow-on experiments.

See our publications for examples of the types of models our group develops and uses.