EMSL Chief Science Officer Named to Washington State Academy of Sciences

Justin Teeguarden, chief science officer at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Laboratory Fellow, was recently named to the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS). 

WSAS was established by the Washington State Legislature to respond to scientific and technical questions to inform public policy. WSAS members are elected in recognition of their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, as well as their commitment to bringing the latest scientific knowledge and expertise to bear on issues within the state of Washington. 

In his election to WSAS, Teeguarden joins more than 375 active members. Thirty-six members were elected this year. 

Teeguarden’s research background focuses on toxicology. Specifically, his research tenure spans topics such as modeling chemical, metal, particle, and drug movement in biological systems; human biomonitoring for environmental estrogens; and dosimetry tools for hazard and risk assessment of nanomaterials. 

Teeguarden said he has always been deeply interested in how the biological world works. 

“I chose toxicology as a field because it allowed a deep exploration of how we impact the world around us, through the lens of how chemicals and other agents affect our molecular and biochemical systems,” he said. 

Teeguarden served as a toxicologist for more than a decade before joining PNNL as a senior scientist in 2004. In 2016, he earned the title of chief scientist at PNNL. In 2020, he joined EMSL as its chief science officer and earned the distinction of PNNL Laboratory Fellow. 

At EMSL, Teeguarden stewards a team of 11 research team leads focused on the development and implementation of science and technology that drives technological advancements in the molecular biological and environmental fields. These advancements empower the research community to address national-level challenges in areas such as bioenergy and environmental security. 

“I think what excites me most is how passionately many of our earlier and mid-career scientists are embracing and driving innovations along the path to our big science objectives,” he said. “They energize me and make this all worthwhile.” 

When looking back at his career so far, Teeguarden said he feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to do a few things that have had an impact. 

“I successfully challenged a few core beliefs of my field that have had lasting impacts on how we study the effects of chemicals on humans and the environment,” he said. “In particular, we have used these changes to set standards that make all studies have much greater value and impact on the most important issues we in the toxicology community address.” 

At one point in his career, he found himself at a meeting in Washington, D.C., in a building overlooking the White House South Lawn. The experience that unfolded reminds him even today that the right idea can come suddenly, unexpectedly, and from anywhere.  

Teeguarden said he was the newest member of a team building a complex and expensive multi-year experimental program to address concerns about human risks of exposure to a hazardous chemical compound. New to PNNL and the group in Washington, D.C., he remembers feeling intimidated by the team and setting. But 30 minutes into the meeting, he started thinking through the science problem at hand and realized that a core principle of chemistry had been overlooked in the planning. Could one simple experiment with existing methods be used to establish the safety of the compound?  

With some encouragement from his colleague, “I wrote it out, explained it, and there was utter silence, astonishment for a full minute as others came to the same realization,” he said. “I thought, ‘Huh, maybe I could be useful after all?’” 

Teeguarden said he feels honored to be inducted into WSAS, holding it as not only a new responsibility, but a new opportunity. 

“Any excitement is attached to being able to serve Washington state in my capacity of scientist,” he said. 

Teeguarden will be inducted to WSAS as part of the 17th Annual Washington State Academy of Sciences Symposium at the Museum of Flight on September 25 in Seattle.