Dr. Phillip Williams, dean of the University of Georgia College of Public Health, has been appointed to the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius invited Dr. Williams to serve on the 16-member board.

Created in 1985, the ATSDR focuses on minimizing human health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances.  Its functions include public health assessments of waste sites, health surveillance and registries, emergency response, as well as health consultations, education and training concerning specific hazardous substances.

The ATSDR’s Board of Scientific Counselors advise the HHS Secretary, and the directors of the CDC and NCEH/ATSDR, regarding the program goals, objectives, strategies, and priorities needed to fulfill these agencies’ mission to protect and promote people’s health.

Williams has served as the dean of the College of Public Health since its founding in 2005 and holds the Georgia Power Professorship of Environmental Health Science in the college’s department of environmental health science.  An expert on chemical exposure and other toxicological threats, he has authored more than 100 scientific publications, including two textbooks on toxicology.

– Rebecca Ayer

Posted April 3, 2014.