Scientists

Teresa Leavens

Teresa Leavens

Education

B.S., chemical engineering with bioscience option, North Carolina State University, 1990.
Ph.D., Curriculum in Toxicology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996.
Postdoctoral training, Curriculum in Toxicology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996-1998.
Postdoctoral training, Human Studies Division, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1998-2002.

Research

My research focus is the development and application of mathematical models to describe the pharmacokinetic mechanisms of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of compounds in animals and humans.  These models can be used both to guide design of pharmacokinetic experiments and to extrapolate pharmacokinetic data among doses and species to predict internal doses of a xenobiotic or its active metabolites in target tissues at concentrations relevant to human exposure.  Recent modeling efforts have included updating prenatal physiologically based pharmacokinetic models in rats with a database of biological parameters, development of a model to describe olfactory transport of manganese to specific brain regions in rats, and route-specific modeling of exposure of rats to the fuel additive, methyl tertiary-butyl ether.

Selected Publications

Leavens, T.L., Blount, B.C., DeMarini, D.M., Madden, M.C., Valentine, J.C., Case, M.W., Silva, L.K., Warren, S.H., Hanley, N.M., and Pegram, R.S. (2007). Diposition of Bromodichloromethane in Humans Following Oral and Dermal Exposre.  Toxicol. Sci. In press.

Leavens, T. L., Rao, D., Andersen, M. E., and Dorman, D.C. (2007). Evaluating transport of manganese from olfactory mucosa to striatum by pharmacokinetic modeling. Toxicol. Sci. 97, 265-278.

Leavens, T. L., Parkinson, C. U., James. R. A., House, D., Elswick, B., Dorman, D. C. (2006). Respiration in Sprague Dawley rats during pregnancy. Inhal. Toxicol. 18, 305-312.

Prah, J. D., Ashley, D. L., Leavens, T. L., Pleil, J. D., Blount, B., and Case, M. W. (2004). Dermal, oral, and inhalation pharmacokinetics of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in human volunteers. Toxicol. Sci. 77, 195-205.

Leavens, T. L., Sparrow, B. R., and Devito, M. J. (2002). Lack of antiandrogenic effects in adult male rats following acute exposure to 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE). Toxicology 174, 69-78.

Prah, J. D., Blount, B, Cardinali, F. L., Ashley, D. L., Leavens, T, and Case, M. W. (2002). The development and testing of a dermal exposure system for pharmacokinetic studies of administered and ambient water contaminants. J. Pharmacol. Toxicol. Methods 47(3), 189-195.

Leavens, T. L., Farris, G. M., James, A. R., Shah, R., Wong, V. A., Marshall, M., and Bond, J. A. (1997). Genotoxicity and cytotoxicity following exposure to mixtures of 1,3-butadiene and styrene. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 29, 335-345.

Leavens, T. L. and Bond, J. A. (1996). Pharmacokinetic model describing the disposition of butadiene and styrene in mice. Toxicology 113, 310-313.

Leavens, T. L., Moss, O. R., and Bond, J. A. (1996). A dynamic inhalation system for individual whole-body exposures of mice to volatile organic chemicals. Inhal. Toxicol. 8, 655-677.

Leavens, T. L., Moss, O. R., Turner, M. J., Janszen, D. B., and Bond, J. A. (1996). Metabolic interactions of 1,3-butadiene and styrene in male B6C3F1 mice. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 141, 628-636.

Bond, J. A., Csanády, G. A., Gargas, M. L., Guengerich, F. P., Leavens, T., Medinsky, M. A., and Recio, L. (1994). 1,3- Butadiene: linking metabolism, dosimetry, and mutation induction. Environ. Health Perspect. 102 (Suppl 9), 87-94.

Medinsky, M. A., Leavens, T. L., Csanády, G. A., Gargas, M. L., and Bond, J. A. (1994). In vivo metabolism of butadiene by mice and rats: a comparison of physiological model predictions and experimental data. Carcinogenesis 15(7), 1329-1340.