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
U.S. Geological Survey environmental health science strategy — Providing environmental health science for a changing world
Thiamine deficiency: a viable hypothesis for paralytic syndrome in Baltic birds. Commentary on Sonne et al., 2012. A review of the factors causing paralysis in wild birds: implications for the paralytic syndrome observed in the Baltic Sea. Science of t
Identification of the thiamin pyrophosphokinase gene in rainbow trout: Characteristic structure and expression of seven splice variants in tissues and cell lines and during embryo development
Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus is not the cause of thiamine deficiency impeding lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) recruitment in the Great Lakes
USGS Environmental health science strategy: providing environmental health science for a changing world: Public review release
Characterization of plasma vitellogenin and sex hormone concentrations during the annual reproductive cycle of the endangered razorback sucker
Gene expression changes in female zebrafish (Danio rerio) brain in response to acute exposure to methylmercury
Characterization of environmental cues for initiation of reproductive cycling and spawning in shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus in the Lower Missouri River, USA
Agricultural sources of contaminants of emerging concern and adverse health effects on freshwater fish
Verification of ploidy and reproductive potential in triploid black carp and grass carp
Thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish eggs from the upper Great Lakes are related to maternal diet
A minimally invasive method for extraction of sturgeon oocytes
Science and Products
U.S. Geological Survey environmental health science strategy — Providing environmental health science for a changing world
Thiamine deficiency: a viable hypothesis for paralytic syndrome in Baltic birds. Commentary on Sonne et al., 2012. A review of the factors causing paralysis in wild birds: implications for the paralytic syndrome observed in the Baltic Sea. Science of t
Identification of the thiamin pyrophosphokinase gene in rainbow trout: Characteristic structure and expression of seven splice variants in tissues and cell lines and during embryo development
Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus is not the cause of thiamine deficiency impeding lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) recruitment in the Great Lakes
USGS Environmental health science strategy: providing environmental health science for a changing world: Public review release
Characterization of plasma vitellogenin and sex hormone concentrations during the annual reproductive cycle of the endangered razorback sucker
Gene expression changes in female zebrafish (Danio rerio) brain in response to acute exposure to methylmercury
Characterization of environmental cues for initiation of reproductive cycling and spawning in shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus in the Lower Missouri River, USA
Agricultural sources of contaminants of emerging concern and adverse health effects on freshwater fish
Verification of ploidy and reproductive potential in triploid black carp and grass carp
Thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish eggs from the upper Great Lakes are related to maternal diet
A minimally invasive method for extraction of sturgeon oocytes
*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