Donald Tillitt, PhD
Dr. Don Tillitt is a Research Toxicologist at the Columbia Environmental Research Center.
Don has been at the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) since 1989, then part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He leads research on the effects of chemicals on fish and wildlife, with an emphasis on reproduction and development in fish. His research interests focus on developmental effects of persistent chemicals in fish. Multiple levels of biological organization are generally evaluated in his research efforts, with endpoints consisting of molecular, biochemical, histology, and behavioral-level effects. Recent research projects in his laboratory include: 1) effects of PCBs and dioxins on development in sturgeon species; 2) causes and effects of thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiencies on Great Lakes salmonines; 3) effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on sexual differentiation and gonad development in fish; and 4) transgenerational epigenetic effects on endocrine disrupting chemicals across vertebrate taxa. Don has served in a variety of capacities for the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, currently serves as an Editor for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Don has adjunct professor appointments in the Biological Sciences and the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. He serves on graduate student advisory committees, offers guest lectures, and has taught Environmental Toxicology since 1992.
Professional Experience
2013-present Senior Scientist, USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO
1989-2012 Research Chemist, USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO
1983-1989 Graduate Assistant, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Environmental Toxicology, Michigan State University, 1989
M.S. Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 1986
B.S. Ag. Biochemistry, Michigan State University, 1981
B.S. Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 1981
Affiliations and Memberships*
2010-present Adjunct Professor, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
1991-present Adjunct Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
1991-2010 Adjunct Professor, Biochemistry Department, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
1983-present Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
American Fisheries Society (lifetime member)
International Association of Great Lakes Research (lifetime member)
Science and Products
Variations of thiaminase I activity pH dependencies among typical Great Lakes forage fish and Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.
Thiamine deficiency effects on the vision and foraging ability of lake trout fry
Reproductive impairment of Great Lakes lake trout by dioxin-like chemicals: Chapter 21
Accumulation of environmental contaminants in wood duck (Aix sponsa) eggs, with emphasis on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans
Thiamine Deficiency Complex Workshop final report: November 6-7, 2008, Ann Arbor, MI
Embryo toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin to the wood duck (Aix sponsa)
Use of a 15 k gene microarray to determine gene expression changes in response to acute and chronic methylmercury exposure in the fathead minnow Pimephales promelas Rafinesque
Relations between and among contaminant concentrations and biomarkers in black bass (Micropterus spp.) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) from large U.S. rivers, 1995-2004
Chemical contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarker responses in fish from rivers in the Southeastern United States
Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program: Environmental contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarkers in fish from the Mobile, Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint, Savannah, and Pee Dee River Basins
Reproductive physiology of Missouri River gravid pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon during the 2005 and 2006 spawning seasons: Chapter C in Factors affecting the reproduction, recruitment, habitat, and population dynamics of pallid sturgeon and shove
Chemical contamination of the Rybinsk Reservoir, northwest Russia: Relationship between liver polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) content and health indicators in bream (Abramis brama)
Science and Products
Variations of thiaminase I activity pH dependencies among typical Great Lakes forage fish and Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.
Thiamine deficiency effects on the vision and foraging ability of lake trout fry
Reproductive impairment of Great Lakes lake trout by dioxin-like chemicals: Chapter 21
Accumulation of environmental contaminants in wood duck (Aix sponsa) eggs, with emphasis on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans
Thiamine Deficiency Complex Workshop final report: November 6-7, 2008, Ann Arbor, MI
Embryo toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin to the wood duck (Aix sponsa)
Use of a 15 k gene microarray to determine gene expression changes in response to acute and chronic methylmercury exposure in the fathead minnow Pimephales promelas Rafinesque
Relations between and among contaminant concentrations and biomarkers in black bass (Micropterus spp.) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) from large U.S. rivers, 1995-2004
Chemical contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarker responses in fish from rivers in the Southeastern United States
Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program: Environmental contaminants, health indicators, and reproductive biomarkers in fish from the Mobile, Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint, Savannah, and Pee Dee River Basins
Reproductive physiology of Missouri River gravid pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon during the 2005 and 2006 spawning seasons: Chapter C in Factors affecting the reproduction, recruitment, habitat, and population dynamics of pallid sturgeon and shove
Chemical contamination of the Rybinsk Reservoir, northwest Russia: Relationship between liver polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) content and health indicators in bream (Abramis brama)
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government