Dr. Neera Tewari-Singh is an Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and an affiliated faculty at the Institute for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University. She received her doctoral degree from the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi but mainly carried out her doctoral research under the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellowship at the Institute of Molecular Genetics, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Colorado State University and then a Research Associate, Instructor and Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Denver.
With an extensive background in molecular biology and toxicology, the long-term goal of her research is to pursue basic and translational research to develop countermeasures/ targeted therapies against the toxic chemical and environmental exposures including vesicating agents, urticants, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, that can cause harmful effects/mass casualties as well as long-term illness/diseases to the human population. Her lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms of toxicity and inflammation from mainly dermal and ocular exposures to toxic chemical agents employing state-of-the-art molecular techniques and systems toxicology approaches. Increasing levels of technology and industrialization could lead to occupational or accidental exposures, and possible use of chemical agents in warfare and terrorism; this makes Dr. Tewari-Singh’s work highly significant for both the civilian and military populations.
Dr. Tewari-Singh is a principal investigator in the National Institutes of Health’s Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) and the Department of Defense programs and has demonstrated record of successful and productive research projects. She is also serving as a Dermal Toxicology Expert on the Scientific Advisory Board, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She has extensively published her work and received numerous honors and awards including the Society of Toxicology-Association of Scientists of Indian Origin Young Investigator Award, Ocular Toxicology Innovation and Impact Award, and the Dermal Toxicology Best Paper of the Year award. Dr. Tewari-Singh has developed strong research collaborations, mentors postdoctoral fellows, graduate and under graduate students, and has demonstrated leadership and service in professional societies and academic institutions. She is currently the elected president of the Dermal Toxicology Specialty Section and Treasurer of the Ocular Toxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology. She is also the Chairperson, Committee on Research and Graduate Studies for the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University. In addition, Dr. Tewari-Singh serves on the editorial boards of toxicology journals like Toxics, Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods and Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology.