Toxicology Specialist-, Risk Assessment

The MDHHS mission is to provide opportunities, services, and programs that promote a healthy, safe, and stable environment for residents to be self-sufficient. We are committed to ensuring a diverse workforce and a work environment whereby all employees are treated with dignity, respect and fairness. For more information, please visit our MDHHS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan.

This position is a statewide Toxicologist Specialist in Risk Assessment responsible for overseeing the Human Risk Assessment specialty area within the Toxicology and Assessment Section. This specialist develops novel risk assessment approaches to handle emerging chemicals and to determine how to assess the most complex situations when chemicals are found in the environment, even when no current guidelines exist to handle it.

This position provides toxicological expertise to federal, state, and local agencies statewide on human risk assessment and health assessment topics that are affecting or have the potential to affect human health. This position serves as a liaison with other governmental agencies, professional organizations, and Division staff on risk assessment of known or emerging chemical threats to human health in Michigan.

This position conducts complex analyses of available risk assessment methods and models and develop novel risk assessment approaches whenever needed to tackle threats from environmental chemicals in Michigan. This position makes independent determinations regarding risk to human health in Michigan - both imminent and long-term. This position develops and monitors procedures, guidelines, and policies that make up the foundation of the Toxicology and Assessment Section's risk assessments at sites of contamination and guide the development of departmental policies and response protocols to ensure public health is protected.

This individual also maintains technical contact with other experts in his/her specialized areas as well as other appropriate experts from various scientific disciplines to assist in the assessment of novel risk assessment approaches to handle a changing and diverse landscape of chemical contamination affecting Michigan.

This position provides review and comment on established and novel risk and human health assessment methodologies, approaches, practices and frameworks; and this position provides the most technical and difficult scientific documentation for science-based recommendations to protect public health. This position uses the data and recommendations to develop appropriate risk assessment-related procedures and interact with other state and federal agencies in the development of the procedures.

The person in this position interacts with the public, local, state, and federal officials via meetings, telephone conversations, e-mails, and on-site visits, responding to public health concerns and how they are assessed for risk to human health and providing information to protect public health statewide.

Possession of a master's degree in toxicology.

Four years of professional experience equivalent to a Toxicologist, including two years equivalent to a Toxicologist P11 or one year equivalent to a Toxicologist 12.

Possession of a master's degree in a physical, biological, or environmental science with 10 semester (15 term) credits in one or more of the following subject areas: toxicology, human or environmental risk assessment, pharmacology, pathology, environmental stress, mechanisms or modes of chemical action on living organisms; and an additional 10 semester credits (15 term) in any combination of the following: molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, anatomy, epidemiology, industrial hygiene, zoology, ecology, biology, limnology, environmental science, soil science, physiology, histology, statistics, and chemical fate and transport may be substituted for the education requirement.

Possession of a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in toxicology; or, a PhD in a physical, biological, or environmental science with 10 semester (15 term) credits in a one or more subject areas including toxicology, human or environmental risk assessment, pharmacology, pathology, environmental stress, mechanisms or modes of chemical action on living organisms; and an additional 10 semester credits (15 term) in any combination of the following: molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, anatomy, epidemiology, industrial hygiene,…