Linda S. Birnbaum (Founding Executive Committee)

Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., became the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) on January 18, 2009. In these roles Birnbaum oversees federal funding for biomedical research to discover how the environment influences human health and disease. Several advisory boards and councils provide Birnbaum and NIEHS/ NTP staff with input to accomplish this large task. Birnbaum is the first toxicologist and the first woman to lead the NIEHS/NTP. She has spent most of her career as a federal scientist. Birnbaum has received numerous awards and recognitions, including being elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, in October 2010, one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health. Birnbaum’s own research and many of her publications focus on the pharmacokinetic behavior of environmental chemicals; mechanisms of actions of toxicants, including endocrine disruption; and linking of real-world exposures to health effects. Birnbaum also finds time to mentor the next generation of environmental health scientists. For example, she serves as an adjunct professor in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Curriculum in Toxicology, and the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as in the Integrated Toxicology Program at Duke University. A native of New Jersey, Dr. Birnbaum received her M.S. and Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Chris Kemper (Founding Executive Committee)

Dr. Kemper has been active in the DMPK/bioanalytical community since starting as a technician at Sterling Winthrop Research Institute in 1972. He obtained a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1979 and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Louisville Medical Center in 1983. He has held technical, managerial, and/or business development positions with Wyeth, RWJ PRI, Phoenix International, LCResources, and Taylor Technology/PharmaNet. Since 2010, he has been a private DMPK/bioanalytical consultant with his own firm, Pharma Navigators, LLC. He is best known for his activities with the Delaware Valley Drug Metabolism Discussion Group (DVDMDG), being on the steering committee in various positions since 1989. He also helped create the New England and RTP DMDGs and is on the steering committee of the AAPS Bioanalytical Focus Group. A frequent attendee of the Gordon Conference on Drug Metabolism, he has twice served as session chair. His CV and activities can be found on his website at www.pharmanavigatorsllc.com.

Paul B. Watkins (Founding Executive Committee)

Dr. Paul B. Watkins is director of the Hamner-University of North Carolina Institute for Drug Safety Sciences. He is also Professor of Medicine, Pharmacy and Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  Dr. Watkins is a trained clinical hepatologist and also an accomplished basic and translational investigator in the fields of drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity.   He serves as the chair of both the Steering and Genetics Committees for the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network (DILIN) (U01DK065201).  He is one of the most frequently cited authors in the field of pharmacology according to www.ISIhighlycited.com. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Therapeutic Frontiers Award from the American College of Pharmacy election to the Association of American Physicians (AAP), the 2013 Agilent Therapeutic Frontiers Award, and 2015 Rawls-Palmer Award for Progress in Medicine from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.  

Brante P. Sampey (Chair: 2019-2021, 2015-2017)

Dr. Sampey is an Associate Director of Toxicology at Intrinsik Ltd. in their Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology Division, and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT). Intrinsik is a science-based consulting firm with clients from all over the world supporting the development of a wide range of human health products, including small molecules, biologics, natural health products, cosmetics, medical devices, and food additives and ingredients from the preclinical stage through to market and the post-approval phase. Prior to Intrinski, Brante worked as Associate Director of Nonclinical Safety Assessment at Roivant Sciences Inc, and the subsidiary compan Enzyvant Therapeutic, Inc, leading IND- and NDA-enabling nonclinical pharmacology, toxicology and safety pharmacology efforts across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. Prior to Roivant, Dr. Sampey was a Sr. Study Director at Metabolon Inc. overseeing global metabolomics studies with clients from academia, government and industry. Dr. Sampey received a B.Sc. in Biology from Virginia Tech, a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (Denver) and was a postdoctoral fellow (NCI & NIEHS) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, focusing on the overlapping fields of oncology, obesity and nutrition (Lineberger Cancer Center, Department of Nutrition and Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine). He currently serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee for the RTP-DMDG (2019-2021 and 2015-2017) and has been an RTP-DMDG member for many years prior.

Cindy Rewerts (Treasurer: 2019-2021)

Cindy received a B.Sc. degree in microbiology from Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) in 1987 and received a MS degree in pharmacology from the University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill in 1995. After completing her graduate training, Cindy worked in the drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic field in many different environments including academics, both large and small pharma companies, and government and contract research organizations. During that time, she performed and managed both discovery and development work. Cindy's research has focused mainly on hepatic, gut, and brain drug metabolism with an emphasis on transporters and cytochrome P450s in human and animal-based in vitro systems for the pre-clinical evaluation drug-drug interactions. Cindy has published several peer-reviewed journal articles in the field of drug metabolism and is a member of several scientific societies, including AAPS and ISSX. She serves as the treasurer for the RTP-DMDG and several local high school booster organizations.