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
Biological pathways of exposure and ecotoxicity values for uranium and associated radionuclides: Chapter D in Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in Northern Arizona
Productivity, embryo and eggshell characteristics, and contaminants in bald eagles from the Great Lakes, USA, 1986 to 2000
Variation in Lake Michigan alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) thiaminase and fatty acids composition
Atrazine reduces reproduction in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Influence of thiamine deficiency on Lake Trout larval growth, foraging, and predator avoidance
Variations of thiaminase I activity pH dependencies among typical Great Lakes forage fish and Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.
Dreissenid mussels from the Great Lakes contain elevated thiaminase activity
Environmental contaminants in freshwater fish and their risk to piscivorous wildlife based on a national monitoring program
Behavioral response and kinetics of terrestrial atrazine exposure in American toads (bufo americanus)
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for a bacterial thiaminase I gene and the thiaminase-producing bacterium Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.
Egg fatty acid composition from lake trout fed two Lake Michigan prey fish species.
The genomic transcriptional response of female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to an acute exposure to the androgen, 17β-trenbolone
Science and Products
Biological pathways of exposure and ecotoxicity values for uranium and associated radionuclides: Chapter D in Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in Northern Arizona
Productivity, embryo and eggshell characteristics, and contaminants in bald eagles from the Great Lakes, USA, 1986 to 2000
Variation in Lake Michigan alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) thiaminase and fatty acids composition
Atrazine reduces reproduction in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Influence of thiamine deficiency on Lake Trout larval growth, foraging, and predator avoidance
Variations of thiaminase I activity pH dependencies among typical Great Lakes forage fish and Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.
Dreissenid mussels from the Great Lakes contain elevated thiaminase activity
Environmental contaminants in freshwater fish and their risk to piscivorous wildlife based on a national monitoring program
Behavioral response and kinetics of terrestrial atrazine exposure in American toads (bufo americanus)
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for a bacterial thiaminase I gene and the thiaminase-producing bacterium Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.
Egg fatty acid composition from lake trout fed two Lake Michigan prey fish species.
The genomic transcriptional response of female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to an acute exposure to the androgen, 17β-trenbolone
*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