Meet Thomas Koeller, Ph.D.

R. Thomas Zoeller, Ph.D.,, Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Director, Laboratory of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Endocrinology; Visiting Professor at Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.

Dr. Zoeller appeared August 03, 2020 on Science for the Public's program, Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations to discuss the alarming impact of endocrine disruptors on brain development: Scientists Raise the Alarm: Endocrine Disruptors Affect Brain Development

He explained how these ubiquitous toxins -found in everyday products such as linings in cans, paper receipts, cosmetics, etc-- are passed to the fetus, and interfere with thyroid and other hormones essential for brain development. Babies in the U.S. are born with more than 100 toxins in their blood, and the damage leads to lowered IQ, behavioral and neurological problems.
In this discussion, Dr. Zoeller described the variety of toxins, how these toxins produce such damage, how scientists investigate the toxins, and ---most important-- the frustration of scientists in their attempts to get federal agencies (FDA, EPA) to take seriously the scientific facts and to seriously control these toxins. Dr. Zoeller also offered a comparison between U.S. regulations on these toxins (quite lax) and regulating agencies in the European Uniion (much stricter).