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Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary (2008)

Chapter: Appendix B: Participant Biosketches

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
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Page 61
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 62
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 63
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 64
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 65
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 66
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 67
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 68
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 69
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 70
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 71
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Participant Biosketches." National Research Council. 2008. Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12218.
×
Page 72

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Appendix B Participant Biosketches Michael Allen is Chairman and Professor, Department of Plant Pathol- ogy at the University of California, Riverside. His research focuses on the biology and ecology of microbial-plant-soil interactions. Dr. Allen docu- ments how natural succession occurs following disturbances of soil and studies ways to use spatial structure of plants to enhance recovery of soil organisms. He received an MS and PhD in botany from the University of Wyoming. Meredith Bartron is the regional geneticist for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at the Northeast Fishery Center Conservation Genetics Lab in Lamar, Pennsylvania. She received her PhD from Michigan State Univer- sity and BSc from the University of Montana. The Conservation Genetics Lab is focused on the application of genetic principles and techniques to conservation and management issues. Focus areas of work include brood- stock management, interaction between genetic population structure and habitat, and use of genetics for management of threatened or endangered species. Kay Marano Briggs is the Coordinator for the USGS Biological Resources Discipline’s Conservation Biology and Genetics work. Her background is in microbiology with an emphasis in sulfur oxidizers. She is responsible for ensuring that USGS conservation biology and genetics work is known to the public and available for their reference. 61

62 APPENDIX B Steven M. Chambers is currently Senior Scientist in the Division of Eco- logical in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He holds BA and MA degrees in biology from the University of California, Riverside, and a PhD in Zool- ogy from the University of Florida. His published research has been primarily in the area of the genetics of natural populations, including conservation genetics, and the use of genetic data in taxonomy. Robert Devlin is a Research Scientist in the Aquaculture Division of the Canada Department of Fish and Oceans. He holds a PhD in zoology from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Devlin studies salmonid biol- ogy using molecular tools. He has developed transgenic salmonids with enhanced production traits, and his research explores the benefits and the risks associated with this technology. Norman C. Ellstrand (Committee Member) is a Professor of Genetics in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, and Adjunct Professor at Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from the Univer- sity of Texas, Austin, in 1978. His research now focuses on applied plant population genetics, with a current research emphasis on the nature and consequences of gene flow, including the escape of engineered genes. He has published a book on that topic, Dangerous Liaisons? When Cultivated Plants Mate with Their Wild Relatives. Brian A. Federici is Distinguished Professor, Entomology, Genetics, and Microbiology in the Department of Entomology & Interdepartmental Graduate Programs in Genetics and Microbiology. His research focuses on the basic biology and development of insect pathogens that show promise for use as control agents in ecologically sound IPM programs aimed at managing major insect crop pests and vectors of human and ani- mal diseases. Current research emphasizes studies of two types of insect pathogens, (1) Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a bacterium that kills insects via one or more insecticidal proteins, and (2) insect baculoviruses and ascovi- ruses, large double-stranded DNA viruses that attack many economically important insects. He holds BS and MS degrees in Biology and Medical Entomology from Rutgers University and a PhD in Insect Pathology from the University of Florida. Ian Fleming is a Professor and Director of the Ocean Sciences Centre of Memorial University of Newfoundland. His research integrates perspec- tives from ecology and evolution with fishery and conservation biology, and his areas of expertise include fish behavioral and evolutionary ecol- ogy, reproduction, life history, and population biology. He has worked

APPENDIX B 63 extensively on the management and conservation of wild fish popula- tions, particularly salmon, and the ecological interactions with marine finfish aquaculture, including transgenic Atlantic salmon. He received his PhD in 1991. Bob Frederick is a Senior Scientist in the Environmental Protection Agen- cy’s Office of Research and Development at the National Center for Envi- ronmental Assessment (NCEA). With the Agency since 1984, his responsi- bilities have included coordination of the Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Program and the risk assessment of genetically modified prod- ucts. He has served as an EPA representative to the National Institutes of Health Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee; a Federal Coordinating Biotechnology Research Subcommittee; the United States-European Com- munity Task Force on Biotechnology Research; and as EPA coordinator of Office of Science and Technology Policy’s crosscut on biotechnology research. He is currently a member of the Evaluation and Advisory Board for the USAID sponsored Program on Biosafety Systems administered through the International Food Policy Research Institute. From October 1993 to September 1996, he was Executive Secretary of the Biotechnology Advisory Commission (BAC) at the Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. While with BAC, he organized and taught in six international workshops on biosafety and biodiversity in Nigeria, Argen- tina, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Sweden and has lectured and instructed on biosafety issues in more than twenty countries. Paul Gepts received a PhD in plant breeding and plant genetics at the University of Wisconsin with Fred Bliss, pursued a postdoc with Michael Clegg at UC Riverside, and became a faculty member at UC Davis. His research has led to Phaseolus genetic and genomic tools, including a core molecular linkage map in common bean, a set of phylogenetically arrayed BAC libraries, a QTL mapping of domestication traits, and a detailed analysis of the phaseolin seed protein locus. His recent research has been devoted to describing the importance of gene flow in the common bean. Although the species is predominantly self-pollinated, molecular data provide evidence that existing levels of gene flow affect the distribution of genetic diversity between wild and domesticated populations as well as within the genome between domestication-linked and -unlinked regions. His findings have obvious implications for genetic containment or lack thereof. Doug Gurian-Sherman is a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Sci- entists. He was a senior scientist at the Center for Food Safety in Washing- ton, DC, from 2004-2006, and before that, was founding co-director and

64 APPENDIX B science director for the biotechnology project at Center for Science in the Public Interest. He went to CSPI from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he was responsible for assessing human health and envi- ronmental risks from transgenic plants and microorganisms, and devel- oping biotechnology policy. He obtained his BS degree from the Univer- sity of Michigan School of Natural Resources and masters and doctorate degrees in Plant Pathology from the University of California at Berkeley before doing post-doctoral research on rice and wheat molecular biology with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He served on FDA’s advisory Food Biotechnology Subcommittee from its inception in 2002-2005. David Harry has a background in applied breeding, evolutionary biol- ogy, and biotechnologyin plants and animals. Dr. Harry has worked in academia, public research labs, and in the private sector as a corporate sci- entist as well as a private consultant. He is currently at Oregon State Uni- versity as Associate Director of the Outreach in Biotechnology program. Richard Hellmich has been a Research Entomologist with the USDA– ARS, Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Laboratory in Ames, Iowa for 14 years. The mission of this lab is to develop sustainable ways to man- age insect pests of corn. Dr. Hellmich’s research focuses on European corn borer ecology and genetics, insect resistance management, and evaluation of non-target effects of transgenic maize. Randy Johnson, National Program Leader, Genetics Research, USDA Forest Service R&D. Forest Service genetics research is conducted in eight research teams across the country. From 1994 until March 2007, Johnson was a research geneticist with the PNW Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon. Research included: breeding Douglas-fir for resistance to Swiss needle cast, genetics of wood quality, incorporating genetic gain into growth models, developing seed movement guidelines for restoration species (genecology), and computer modeling to increase breeding effi- ciency. Past jobs have included shrub breeding at the U.S. National Arbo- retum, director of the New Zealand Radiata Pine Breeding Cooperative, and doing epidemiology with NIDA and NIA. Anne R. Kapuscinski (Committee Chair) is a Professor of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; Founding Fellow of the Institute on the Environment, director of the Institute for Social, Economic, and Ecological Sustainability (ISEES); and a Sea Grant Extension Specialist in Aquaculture and Biotechnology at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. She obtained her PhD in fisheries from Oregon State University in 1984. Dr. Kapuscinski’s expertise is in aquaculture, fisheries genetics, and

APPENDIX B 65 methodologies for assessing risks of introduced organisms; her current research focuses on the environmental risk assessment of transgenic fish. Dr. Kapuscinski was the 2001 Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, and she received the U.S. Department of Agriculture Honor Award in 1997. She has served on three previous NRC committees: the Committee on Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms; the Com- mittee on Atlantic Salmon in Maine; and the Committee on Protection and Management of Pacific Northwest Anadromous Salmonids. Peter Kareiva is Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, where his research focuses on the modeling and mapping of ecosystem services, and exploration of future global trends that could impact conservation. He has conducted research regarding genetically engineered organisms for over 20 years, with studies that range from mathematical models of GMO spread, to field studies of gene flow, to field studies of invasiveness, and most recently meta-analyses of experiments concerning the impact of Bt crops on non-target organisms. Prior to his current job, Peter taught at several universities (University of Washington, Brown University, UCSB, Santa Clara University, University of Virginia, Swedish Agricultural Uni- versity), and served as Director of the Conservation Biology Division at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. Tim King is a fish biologist with the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey in Kearneysville, West Virginia. Dr. King stud- ies the population genetics and diversity of numerous aquatic species, including Atlantic salmon, Sturgeon, Brook trout, Spotted salamander, and Horseshoe crab. Guy R. Knudsen (Committee Member) is a Professor of Microbial Ecol- ogy & Plant Pathology in the Department of Plant, Soil, and Entomologi- cal Sciences at the University of Idaho in Moscow. He received his PhD in plant pathology from Cornell University in 1984. Dr. Knudsen’s research focuses on microbial ecology and soil microbiology, including biological control of soilborne plant pathogens, microbial source tracking in wilder- ness and forest watersheds, quantitative modeling of disease processes in plant and insect populations, and bacterial gene transfer in soil and the rhizosphere. He has been a member of several previous national committees on biotechnology risk assessment, including the USDA-ARS Biotechnology Risk Assessment Review Panel and the U.S. EPA-OTS Bio- technology Risk Assessment Working Group. Diane Larson is a Research Biologist with the Biological Resources Disci- pline of the US Geological Survey, located at the Northern Prairie Wildlife

66 APPENDIX B Research Center, Minnesota Field Station. She has been studying invasive plants in mixed-grass prairies of the northern Great Plains since 1996. Her research focuses on ecological effects of invasive plants and evalua- tion of control methods, including the role of restoration in prevention of infestation. Her current work involves the role of plant-soil feedback in restoration of invaded prairies. Deborah Letourneau is Professor of Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz. Her laboratory is interested in insect-plant interactions and the potential for insect-resistant traits to increase the invasiveness of Bt crops. Dr. Letourneau received an MS in biology from the University of Michigan and a PhD in entomology from the University of California, Berkeley. Richard L. Lindroth is a professor of ecology in the Department of Ento- mology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his PhD in ecology from the University of Illinois-Urbana. His research group investigates the chemical mediation of ecological interactions, ranging from plant biochemistry to community dynamics to ecosystem function. A major focus of their work is how genetics, environment, and G x E interac- tions shape the chemical composition of plants and implications thereof for ecological processes. Related research addresses the impacts of global environmental change (elevated CO2, ozone) on ecological interactions. Michelle A. Marvier (Committee Member) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and the Executive Director of the Environmen- tal Studies Institute at Santa Clara University in California. She obtained her PhD in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1996. Dr. Marvier’s research is focused on ecological risk assessment applied to genetically engineered crops and the conservation of biological diversity. Her research has spanned a broad range of ecological topics, including salmon conservation and biological invasions. She is currently an Associ- ate Editor for Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Thomas Miller holds a BS in physics and a PhD in entomology, both from UC Riverside. He joined the faculty of UC Riverside in 1968 where he pio- neered the application of neurophysiology to insecticide mode of action studies. He subsequently contributed to the discovery of the modes of action of cyclodiene and pyrethroid insecticides, and went on to improve the measurement of resistance in cotton pest insects in the field. After improving the detection of diapause in pink bollworm, he developed a transgenic pink bollworm to improve the sterile insect technique for this pest and for this was awarded the Gregor Mendel Gold Medal award for Research in the Biological Sciences from the Czech Academy of Sciences

APPENDIX B 67 in 2003. Dr. Miller began applying the strategy of paratransgenesis (the transformation of symbiotic microbes in insects) to control Pierce’s disease of grape in 1999 and conducted field studies on the behavior of symbiotic control endophytes in commercial vineyards in California in 2003-2005. He is currently leading an effort to develop biotechnology tools for con- trol of desert locust in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture in Morocco. He has been a Plenary Lecturer on these transgenic insect topics at International Congresses and Society meetings around the world. . Sara Oyler-McCance is the co-director of the Rocky Mountain Center for Conservation Genetics and Systematics which is a collaborative lab among USGS, the University of Denver, the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Denver Zoo, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Her research focuses on the molecular genetic analyses of individuals, populations, and species, addressing questions of taxonomy, demography, mating systems, gene flow, genetic diversity, and molecular evolution. Sara uses expertise in molecular biology and ecology to assist federal and state management agencies with specific conservation or management issues. She received her PhD in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from Colorado State University and has worked for USGS for nine years. Susan Park is a program officer with the Ocean Studies Board of The National Academies. She earned her PhD in oceanography from the Uni- versity of Delaware and her BA and MA in biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Ocean Studies Board, Susan spent time working on aquatic invasive species management with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Northeast Aquatic Nuisance Species Panel. In addition to her work with the Ocean Studies Board, she is currently assisting the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Les Pearson is Director of Regulatory Affairs for the tree genetics com- pany Arborgen. Headquartered in Summerville, South Carolina, Arbor- gen is a global leader in the research, development and commercialization of applications and solutions in tree genetics, including varietal forestry, that improve wood growth and quality for the forest products industry. Alison G. Power (Committee Member) is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She also has a joint appointment in the Department of Science and Technology Studies, and is currently the Dean of the Graduate School. Her research focuses on biodiversity conservation in managed ecosystems, interactions between agricultural and natural ecosystems, agroecology, the ecology and evolution of plant pathogens, invasive species, and tropical ecology.

68 APPENDIX B She obtained her PhD in Zoology from the University of Washington in 1985. Dr. Power serves as President-Elect of the Ecological Society of America for 2007. She has served on three previous NRC committees: the Committee on California Agricultural Research Priorities: Pierce’s Dis- ease; the U.S. National Committee on Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE); and the Committee on Agricultural Sustain- ability and the Environment in the Humid Tropics. Emma Rosi-Marshall earned a PhD in Ecology from the Institute of Ecol- ogy, University of Georgia in 2002 and is currently an assistant professor at Loyola University, Chicago. She is a stream ecosystem ecologist and her research focuses on carbon cycling and food webs. Her work spans a number of issues and ecosystems, but primarily deals with the effects of human activity on stream ecosystem function. She has conducted research on evaluating stream restoration, measuring input rates of crop byprod- ucts to agricultural streams, and works on the effects of the Glen Canyon dam on the endangered humpback chub in Arizona. Robin Schoen is the Director of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) of the National Academies. Prior to joining BANR, she was Senior Program Officer for the Academies’ Board on Life Sci- ences (BLS), where she directed studies on topics such as stem cells, plant genomics, and invasive plants. Before joining BLS in 1999, she worked in various capacities in the Academies’ Office of International Affairs, the National Research Council Executive Office, and the former Commission on Life Sciences. Her work during that time focused on involving U.S. scientists in efforts to strengthen biology internationally. She holds an MS in science policy from George Washington University. Eric Silberhorn is a biologist and member of the Environmental Safety Team in the Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation. He prepares guidance for industry and reviews environmental impact documentation needed for the approval of new animal drugs, including biotechnology products. Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Silberhorn was a consultant for over 15 years to pharmaceutical, pesticide, and specialty chemical companies on aquatic toxicology and ecological risk assessment issues. Dr. Silberhorn earned his doctoral degree in toxicology from the University of Kentucky, and a BS and MPH from the University of Michigan. Greg Simmons works as a supervisory entomologist for the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Center for Plant Health Science and Technol- ogy Laboratory (USDA-APHIS-PPQ-CPHST) in Phoenix, Arizona. He

APPENDIX B 69 is a lead entomologist on a team of scientists working on the develop- ment of biological methods of pest control using beneficial insects, sterile insect release, and genetic control technology with genetically engineered insects. He currently works on pink bollworm to support the eradication and suppression programs but has also worked on biological control and sterile insect release technique for other program pests such as glassy- winged sharpshooter, screwworm, and silverleaf whitefly. Greg Simmons has a BSc from the University of Washington in botany, an MS in ecology and evolutionary biology, and a PhD in entomology from the University of Arizona. Rebecca Stankiewicz Gabel is a Sr. Biotechnologist with Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) of the United States Department of Agricul- ture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. She is working with the Animals Branch in BRS to examine the need for regulating genetically engineered animals. She also provides guidance and support for NEPA issues within BRS. Rebecca holds a PhD in Genetics from the University of Connecticut. Wendylee Stott is currently a research investigator under contract with the University of Michigan and the Great Lakes Science Center, USGS. She did undergraduate and graduate work in molecular biology at the University of Guelph and finished her graduate work with a PhD from McMaster University where she studied genetic variation among lake trout from the Great Lakes. Before coming to the Great Lakes Science Center in 2000, she worked for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources where she held several positions, including research technician, assess- ment biologist, and information specialist. Her current research program involves the use of genetic technology to develop economical, efficient, reliable procedures to evaluate species and stock identity. The informa- tion is used to manage wild populations and hatchery supplementation programs, devise informative indicators for exploited fisheries, and deter- mine stock identity of fish involved in harvest disputes. Steven H. Strauss (Committee Member) is a professor in the Forest Sci- ence, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Genetics Programs at Oregon State University. He directs a university-industry research cooperative that aims to advance knowledge of plant molecular physiology, adap- tation, and genomics with the goal of providing new options for tree biotechnology. He is also director of the University program Outreach in Resource Biotechnology, which seeks to promote public and professional understanding of the potential benefits and risks associated with natural resource biotechnologies. He holds a PhD in genetics from the University

70 APPENDIX B of California at Berkeley, an MFS in Forest Science from Yale University, and a BS in biology from Cornell University. Dr. Strauss’s research inter- ests are genomics, biotechnology, and biosafety issues related to the use of genetically engineered forest trees, and his current research focuses on modifying the architecture, chemistry, and flowering of poplars for wood, bioproduct, and energy uses. He is a Stanford Institute for the Environ- ment Leopold Fellow (2005). Dr. Strauss has served on two additional NRC Committees. He has edited two books and published more than 150 scientific and professional publications. Robert C. Szaro is currently Chief Scientist for Biology for the US Geo- logical Survey in Reston, Virginia. In this capacity he provides oversight for USGS’s Biological Research and Monitoring (BRM) efforts of more than $140 million and 17 science centers which focus on issues such as adaptive management, biodiversity, global change, fire ecology, threat- ened and endangered species, monitoring, wildlife, fisheries, environ- mental contaminants, genetics, ecological systems, wildlife diseases, and invasive species. From July 2000 to July 2004 he served as Deputy Station Director for the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Sta- tion in Portland, Oregon. Previously, he served as Coordinator for the Special Programme for Developing Countries of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO-SPDC) and the Agricultural Attaché (Forestry) for the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria (August 1996 to June 2000). From 1989 to 1996, he served in several capacities in the For- est Service’s National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service in Tempe, Arizona (1978-1988) and Research Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service in Laurel, Maryland (1976-1978). He has authored more than 120 papers and edited three books on the conservation of bio- diversity, sustainable resource management and the implementation of ecosystem management. Bruce E. Tabashnik (Committee Member) is a Professor and Depart- ment Head of Entomology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He received his PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University in 1981. Dr. Tabashnik studies the evolution and management of insect resistance to insecticides and transgenic plants. His current work focuses on the evolution of resistance to insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacil- lus thuringiensis (Bt). As a faculty member at the University of Hawaii, he discovered field-evolved resistance to Bt in Diamondback moth. He is currently studying pink bollworm resistance to Bt cotton. His more than 200 scientific publications have been cited more than 5,000 times. He has received many awards for his professional service, most recently

APPENDIX B 71 the Industry Appreciation Award from the Arizona Cotton Growers Association. Paula Tarnapol Whitacre, the workshop rapporteur, has written and edited meeting reports for the National Institutes of Health, Resources for the Future, and the National Academies, among other organizations. She writes for Resources magazine and for several environmental educa- tion publications, and has edited National Research Council books and reports for almost 10 years. She is a former communications director for the Society of American Foresters and for GreenCOM, an environmental education and communication project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Ms. Whitacre has BA and MA degrees in international relations from Johns Hopkins University. Chung-Jui Tsai is a Professor of forest genomics and biotechnology at the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University. She was Director of the Biotechnology Research Center at Michigan Tech from 2002 to 2007. Her research areas include wood formation, lignin biosynthesis, secondary metabolism and meta- bolic engineering. She has been involved in genetic engineering and risk assessment research of lignin-modified poplar trees. John Wenburg has been the Director of the Conservation Genetics Labo- ratory, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), Alaska Region since 2001. He holds a PhD from the University of Washington in Seattle, and an undergraduate degree in Biology and Philosophy from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Wenburg is currently a member of the FWS National Science Committee and has been working in fisheries con- servation genetics since the early 1990s. Jim Winton is Chief of the Fish Health Section at the Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle where he heads a team of scientists, technicians, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and visiting scientists working to improve methods for the detection of fish pathogens, determine factors affecting the epidemiology of fish diseases, and develop novel control strat- egies for reducing losses among both hatchery-reared and wild fish. Jim is also an Affiliate Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington where he serves on departmental or graduate student committees and teaches the occasional lecture. He has served as: President of the Fish Health Section of the American Fisheries Society, mem- ber of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, Journal of Fish Diseases, and Journal of Applied Ichthyology, and member of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, the

72 APPENDIX B American Type Culture Collection, the USDA Aquaculture Technical and Scientific Committee, and the Fish Disease Commission of the World Orga- nization for Animal Health. Significant awards include the Department of Interior Meritorious Service Award (1999), American Fisheries Society Fish Health Section S. F. Snieszko Distinguished Service Award (2000) and the Department of Interior Distinguished Service Award (2006). He is an author of more than 150 scientific publications. L. LaReesa Wolfenbarger (Committee Member) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dr. Wolfenbarger received her PhD from Cornell University in 1996. Her current research focus is on the ecological effects of transgenic crops and agricultural practices, and on land management for grassland bird conservation. She also has significant experience with the science policy and outreach aspects of transgenic crops. Prior to her appointment at the University of Nebraska, Dr. Wolfenbarger worked with the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency on synthesizing science related to agricultural biotechnology for regulators and policymakers. Chris Wozniak is a Biotechnology Special Assistant at the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA). Previously, he was a National Program Leader in the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Exten- sion Service, and before that, a biologist with the EPA, specializing in the regulation and registration of microbial biopesticides, such as fungal pathogens of insects, and plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs), such as maize and cotton engineered for insect resistance. Before joining the EPA in 1997 he worked for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, con- ducting research on plant transformation techniques and biological con- trol mechanisms for insects in sugarbeet. After receiving Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in biology from Drake University, Wozniak completed his PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, focusing his research on cell differentiation and protein synthesis in plants.

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Since the first commercial introduction of transgenic corn plants in 1995, biotechnology has provided enormous benefits to agricultural crop production. Research is underway to develop a much broader range of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs), including fish, trees, microbes, and insects, that could have the potential to transform fields such as aquaculture, biofuels production, bioremediation, biocontrol, and even the production of pharmaceuticals . However, biotechnology is not without risk and continues to be an extremely controversial topic. Chief among the concerns is the potential ecological effects of GEOs that interact with wildlife and habitats.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is charged with providing scientific advice to inform federal agencies that manage wildlife and their habitats. USGS has identified biotechnology as one of its major challenges for future research. Seeing an opportunity to initiate a dialogue between ecologists and developers of GEOs about this challenge, the USGS and the National Research Council (NRC) held a two-day workshop in November of 2007, to identify research activities with the greatest potential to provide the information needed to assess the ecological effects of GEOs on wildlife and habitats. The workshop, designed to approach the research questions from a habitat, rather than transgenic organism, perspective, is summarized in this book.

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