Amelia Romoser, PhD, DABT, CIH, CSP
Project Toxicologist
Dr. Amelia Romoser is a board-certified toxicologist (DABT), certified industrial hygienist (CIH), and certified safety professional (CSP) experienced in occupational toxicology and human health risk assessment. Most recently, Dr. Romoser worked at the NASA Johnson Space Center, where her primary roles were to assess the hazards associated with payload and systems chemicals, respond to emergency chemical releases on the International Space Station, perform human health risk assessments, and develop air and water exposure limits for various chemicals (including volatiles, metals in dust, etc.) in spacesuits and vehicles. She also informed astronauts about chemical hazards in their environment and met frequently with international partners about International Space Station air quality, including details of contaminant control, monitoring, and personal protective equipment.
Dr. Romoser earned a B.S. in Bioenvironmental Sciences (Summa Cum Laude), then a Ph.D. in Toxicology from Texas A&M University. Her doctoral studies involved the characterization of metal and carbon-based nanoparticle physicochemical properties and inflammatory processes elicited by these materials in primary human cells. Amelia was then recruited as a Postdoctoral Research Associate to assist with teaching a food toxicology course, direct human clinical intervention trials in Texas and Africa, and manage research in rodents, cattle, and aquatic organisms. These studies were designed to test the ability of clay-based materials to effectively reduce inflammation and mycotoxin bioavailability via enterosorption.
Following her postdoctoral assignment, she began a fellowship at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, where she gained additional knowledge of cutting edge analytical chemistry techniques to develop methods for detection of novel synthetic drugs in postmortem samples. Dr. Romoser also learned to interpret drug and alcohol casework and trained in courtroom procedure.
Dr. Romoser has published approximately 40 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and abstracts on various toxicology-related topics. She is also the recipient of multiple awards, some of which include the NASA Johnson Space Center Director’s Innovation Group Achievement Award for Commercial Crew Program Support (2017), the Society of Toxicology Nanotoxicology Specialty Section Best Publication (2013), the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students Distinguished Graduate Student Award (2012), and the Women in Science and Engineering Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui Memorial Award for Excellence in Research (2011).
Education
- Doctorate of Philosophy in Toxicology, 2012, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
- Bachelor of Science in Bioenvironmental Sciences, 2008, (Summa Cum Laude)
Professional Affiliations
- Member, Society of Toxicology, 2008-Present
- Member, American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2020-Present
Registrations & Certifications
- Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH)
- Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT)
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
- 40-Hour HAZWOPER
- CPR/AED/First Aid
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP)
Publications
- Tu D, Basner M, Smith MG, Williams ES, Ryder VE, Romoser AA, Ecker A, Aeschbach D, Stahn AC, Jones CW, Howard K, Kaizi-Lutu M, Dinges DF, Shou H. Dynamic ensemble prediction of cognitive performance in spaceflight. Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 30;12(1):11032. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14456-8. PMID: 35773291; PMCID: PMC9246897.
- Romoser, A, Ryder VE, McCoy, JT. Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Manganese Compounds in Mars Dust. Aerosp Med Hum Perform 90(8):709-719.
- Harper, ST, Beeson, H, Pedley, M, Romoser, A, McCoy, T, Dasgupta, R, Burns, Howard DeWitt. (2016) Assembled Article Offgas Testing Exemption Criteria. NASA Technical Report JSC-CN-39439.
- Bakota, E, C Arndt, A Romoser, and SK Wilson. (2016) Fatal Intoxication Involving 3-MeO-PCP: A Case Report and Validated Method. J Anal Toxicol 40(7):504-10.
- Pollock, BH, S Elmore, A Romoser, L Tang, M-S Kang, K Xue, M Rodriguez, NA Dierschke, HG Hayes, HA Hansen, F Guerra, J-S Wang, T Phillips. (2016) Intervention Trial with Calcium Montmorillonite Clay in a South Texas Population Exposed to Aflatoxin. Food Addit Contam Part A 33(8).
- Maki, C, A Montiero, S Elmore, S Tao, J Bernard, R Harvey, A Romoser, T Phillips. (2016) Calcium Montmorillonite Clay in Dairy Feed Reduces Aflatoxin Concentrations in Milk without Interfering with Quality, Composition, or Yield. Anim Feed Sci Technol 214:130-135.
- Pollock, BH, A Romoser, SE Elmore, L Tang, M-S Kang, MS, K Xue, MF Rodriguez, NA Jaime, A Hansen, FA Guerra, J-S Wang, TD Phillips. (2015) Reduction of Aflatoxin Bioavailability with ACCS100 in an Exposed South Texas Population. Ann Epidemiol, 25(9):704.
- Maki, CR, AD Thomas, SE Elmore, A Romoser, RB Harvey, HA Ramirez-Ramirez, and TD Phillips. (2015) Effects of NovaSil Plus and Aflatoxin Exposure on Dry Matter Intake, Milk Production and Milk Composition. J Dairy Sci. 99(2):1039-46.
- Zychowski, KE, SE Elmore, KA Rychlik, HJ Ly, F Pierezan, A Isaiah, JS Suchodolski, A Rodrigues Hoffmann, A Romoser, TD Phillips. (2015) Mitigation of Colitis with NovaSil Clay Therapy. Dig Dis Sci. DOI: 10.1007/s10620-014-3360-7.
- Mitchell, NJ, J Kumi, M Aleser, SE Elmore, KA Rychlik, KE Zychowski, A Romoser, TD Phillips, N-A Ankrah. (2014) Short Term Safety and Efficacy of Calcium Montmorillonite Clay (UPSN) in Children. J Trop Med Hyg. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0093
- Mitchell NJ, Marroquín-Cardona AG, Romoser A, Phillips TD and Hayes AW (2014) Mycotoxins. Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences. Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-801238-3.00135-5.
- Mitchell, NJ, KS Xue, S Lin, A Marroquin-Cardona, KA Brown, SE Elmore, L Tang, A Romoser, WCA Gelderblom, J-S Wang, and TD Phillips. (2013) Calcium Montmorillonite Clay Reduces AFB1 and FB1 Biomarkers in Rats Exposed to Single and Co-exposures of Aflatoxin and Fumonisin. J Applied Toxicol. doi: 10.1002/jat.2942.
- Romoser, A, A Marroquin-Cardona, TD Phillips. (2013) Managing risks associated with feeding aflatoxin contaminated feed. Proceedings of the 22nd Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, 23-24 April 2013. p. 35-50.
- Zychowski, KE, A Rodrigues Hoffmann, HJ Ly, C Pohlenz, A Buentello, A Romoser, DM Gatlin and TD Phillips. (2013) The Effect of Aflatoxin-B1 on Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and Assessment of Dietary Supplementation of NovaSil for the Prevention of Aflatoxicosis. Toxins, 5(9): 1555-1573.
- Elmore, SE N Mitchell, T Mays, K Brown, A Marroquin-Cardona, A Romoser, and TD Phillips. (2013) Common African Cooking Processes do not Affect the Aflatoxin Binding Efficacy of refined calcium montmorillonite clay. Food Control. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.08.037.
- Taylor, JF, A Robinson, NJ Mitchell, A Marroquin-Cardona, N Johnson, SE Elmore, A Romoser, and TD Phillips. (2013) In Vivo Efficacy of Ferrihydrite as an Enterosorbent for Arsenic: Short Term Evaluation in Rodents. J Toxicol Environ Health, 76(3):167-175.
- Zychowski, KE, C Pohlenz, T Mays, A Romoser, M Hume, A Buentello, DM Gatlin III, and TD Phillips. (2013) Effects of Dietary NovaSil on Aflatoxin B1-Exposed Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Aquaculture, 376-379: 117–123.
- Romoser, A, M Criscitiello, and C Sayes. (2013) Engineered Nanomaterials Induce DNA Damage in Primary Human Skin Cells, Even at Low Doses. NanoLIFE, DOI: 10.1142/S1793984414400017.
- Berg, JM, A Romoser, D Figueroa, and CM Sayes. (2012) Comparative Cytotoxicological Responses of Lung Epithelial and Pleural Mesothelial Cells Following In Vitro Exposure to Nanoscale SiO2. Toxicol In Vitro, 27(1):24-33.
- Romoser, A. (2012) Cytotoxicological Responses to Engineered Nanomaterials. Dissertation. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
- Romoser, A, R Scully, S Beck, J Trowbridge, J James, T McCoy, V Ryder. (2017) Protecting Astronaut Health at First Entry into Vehicles Visiting the International Space Station. Aerosp Med Hum Perform 88(2):104-113.
- Brown, KA, T Mays, A Romoser, A Marroquin-Cardona, NJ Mitchell, SE Elmore and TD Phillips. (2012) Modified Hydra Bioassay to Evaluate the Toxicity of Multiple Mycotoxins and Predict the Detoxification Efficacy of a Clay-Based Sorbent. J Appl Toxicol, 34(1):40-48.
- Romoser, A, PL Chen, JM Berg, C Seabury, I Ivanov, MF Criscitiello, and CM Sayes. (2011) Quantum Dots Trigger Immunomodulation of the NF-κB Pathway in Human Skin Cells. Mol Immunol, 48: 1349-1359.
- Romoser, A, D Ritter, R Majitha, K Meissner, M McShane, CM Sayes. (2011) Mitigation of Quantum Dot Cytotoxicity by Microencapsulation. PLoS ONE 6(7): e22079.
- Romoser, A, D Figueroa, A Sooresh, K Scribner, P Chen, W Porter, M Criscitiello, and C Sayes. (2012) Distinct Immunomodulatory Effects of a Panel of Nanomaterials in Human Dermal Fibroblasts. Toxicol Lett, 210: 293–301.
- Sayes CM, A Romoser, N Banerjee. (2010) The Role of Oxidative Stress in Nanotoxicology. Handbook of Systems Toxicology. Eds. Sahu and Casciano. UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp 835-846.
- Berg JM, A Romoser, N Banerjee, R Zebda, and CM Sayes. (2009) The Relationship Between pH and Zeta Potential of ~30 nm Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Suspensions Relevant to In Vitro Toxicological Evaluations. Nanotoxicology, 3(4): 276-283.
- Salazar-Medina AJ, Velazquez-Contreras EF, Sugich-Miranda R, Santacruz H, Navarro RE, Rocha-Alonzo F, Islas-Osuna MA, Chen PL, Christian SGB, Romoser AA, Dindot SV, Sayes CM, Sotelo-Mundo RR, Criscitiello MF. 2020. Immune response of human cultured cells towards macrocyclic Fe2PO and Fe2PC bioactive cyclophane complexes. PeerJ 8:e8956