JOHN ACQUAVELLA

Chair, Admissions Committee

Dr. Acquavella is currently a Senior Fellow in Epidemiology at Monsanto Company in St. Louis. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health. His major research focus is agricultural epidemiology including studies of pesticide manufacturing workers and studies to understand the determinants of pesticide exposure for farmers and their families. He chairs the Farm Family Exposure Task Force and the Epidemiology Work Group of the American Crop Protection Association.

His previous research focus was the health experience of workers manufacturing or using high volume industrial chemicals. Dr. Acquavella chaired the industry committee that sponsored much of the significant research on 1,3-butadiene and helped coordinate four international symposia on butadiene and other olefins. He has published extensively on 1,3-butadiene and on other industrial chemicals.

In 1997, Dr. Acquavella published a paper entitled “The Politics of Identity in Epidemiology” (see Annals of Epidemiology 1997;7:431-433) in which he argued that judging epidemiologists or their research by their affiliation was a negative influence in epidemiology. He continues to work to develop opportunities for collaboration between industrial, government, and academic scientists.

Dr. Acquavella is an ACE Fellow and a winner of the 1989 Lilienfeld Student Prize paper awarded by the Society of Epidemiologic Research. He is a reviewer for several journals including: Epidemiology, American Journal of Epidemiology, Annals of Epidemiology, Cancer, Preventive Medicine, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, and Chemico-Biological Interactions.