Samuel M. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman of the University
of Nebraska Medical Center’s department of pathology and microbiology and
Havlik-Wall Professor of Oncology, has been appointed to the National Toxicology
Program Board of Scientific Counselors. Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, made the appointment.
The National Toxicology Program is a division of one of the National
Institutes of Health — the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS) — but is supported by numerous agencies of the government,
including the NIH, Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. Dr. Cohen’s appointment runs through June 30, 2004.
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Board of Scientific Counselors
is a technical advisory body established to advise the NTP executive committee
and program director on matters related to the scientific program content.
The advisory board also evaluates the scientific merits of the intramural
and collaborative programs of the NTP, and provides external scientific
advice on that program’s activities.
Kenneth Olden, Ph.D., is director of the NIEHS and the NTP, which are
headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
“This appointment clearly recognizes Dr. Cohen’s prominence in the field
of toxicology,” said William Berndt, Ph.D., vice chancellor for academic
affairs at UNMC. “The National Toxicology Program is the foremost federally
sponsored toxicology testing and research program in the country. In the
field of toxicology, it covers everything from testing noxious chemicals
to having fundamental basic research programs. This is a very important
appointment because the board drives what the National Toxicology Program
does.”
In 2001, Dr. Cohen received the prestigious Arnold J. Lehman Award from
the Society of Toxicology for more than 35 years of work in carcinogenesis
and toxicology research, primarily utilizing the urinary bladder as a model
system.
Dr. Cohen’s research on saccharin was key in the federal government’s
2000 decision to drop it from its list of cancer-causing chemicals. Dr.
Cohen began studying the sweetener in 1974 while at the University of Massachusetts
Medical Center in Worcester, Mass. His research continued after Congress
overrode the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed ban of saccharin in
the United States and warning labels were added to products containing
saccharin.
Dr. Cohen joined UNMC in 1981 as professor and vice chairman of pathology
and professor at the Eppley Institute. In 1992, he became chairman of UNMC’s
department of pathology and microbiology. He received his bachelor of science
degree in 1967 and his M.D. and Ph.D. (oncology) degrees in 1972, all from
the University of Wisconsin.