CTEH Spotlight: Angela Perez, Ph.D. (Part I)

Welcome, Dr. Angela (Angie) Perez! Based out of our Portland, Oregon office, Dr. Perez brings more than eight years of consulting experience to the CTEH team. As senior toxicologist, her work focuses on applied toxicology, exposure assessment and human health risk assessment. Learn more about Dr. Perez below:

What has your job as a CTEH senior toxicologist entailed?
As a senior toxicologist, I’ve helped develop new projects and areas of business related to my expertise or those of my colleagues. I’ve also continued my professional development by participating in and giving presentations at scientific societies; obtaining certifications; and publishing in peer-reviewed literature. Additionally, I’ve supported my colleagues through mentorship, technical support and camaraderie.

Why did you decide to join CTEH?
After working at a larger firm, I appreciate CTEH’s size. It is far easier to know my colleagues on a professional and personal level in a company with approximately 125 full-time employees. There is a feeling of energetic growth and opportunity from CTEH’s size, but also from its culture of respect and support . It quickly became clear to me junior staff are afforded opportunities to lead within projects or initiatives while fully maintaining the support and mentorship of senior staff. In my opinion, there are very few ways to learn as quickly as having strong mentors guide you through complicated processes. CTEH is a great place to work because of its strong leadership, supportive culture and regular participation in projects that benefit society.

You completed your Ph.D. at Oregon State University, where your research focused on agricultural crops, the global food supply and aquatic systems. Tell us more about this.
My work at Oregon State was unique because it involved multi-laboratory collaborations. The projects I worked on required extensive sampling and analysis of waters, soils and plants, as well as considerable analytical chemistry experience using multi-instrumentation and molecular biology techniques. I was the project lead for a four-year, field dose study conducted under specific QA guidelines for metal loading following fertilizer applications. I developed field methods; processed and analyzed samples, interpreted data, conducted a human health risk assessment for a regulatory agency (Oregon DEQ) and presented at multi-stakeholder meetings. The project also involved developing a method to determine the geographic origin of fresh fruits using stable isotope profiling techniques. From my graduate experience, I transitioned into a post-doctoral position at the University of California San Francisco, where I studied mercury detoxification in soils at DoD sites.

Have more questions for Dr. Perez? Stay tuned for Part II of her CTEH Spotlight. In the meantime, contact her at aperez@cteh.com.