Professor of Emergency Medicine Advances Awareness of Pesticide-Related Illnesses and Injuries

Davis, California -- PERC-med appointed David Vearrier, MD, MPH to its Advisory Board. Dr. Vearrier is Professor of Emergency Medicine and Preventive Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center; Adjunct Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, and was Medical Toxicology Associate Fellowship Director at Drexel University College of Medicine. PERC-med is the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative for Medical Professionals, a 5-year cooperative agreement (#X-83935901) between the U.S. EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs and University of California Davis Extension, in collaboration with Oregon State University. The primary goal of this project is to widely promote and market pesticide-related health resources to medical providers across the U.S. to help them prevent, recognize and treat pesticide-related health conditions.

Diana Simmes, MPH, Pesticide Medical Education Director at UC Davis said, "Dr. Vearrier's expertise in emergency medicine and medical toxicology positions him to advance healthcare providers' knowledge of pesticide-related conditions. His professional relationships and educational roles, along with his credentials, will ensure that more clinicians are trained on recognizing, treating and preventing these illnesses and injuries," she added.

"Pesticide spans many medical subspecialties -- public health, emergency medicine, preventive medicine, and toxicology," said Dr. Vearrier. "PERC-med's mission and mine are aligned -- teaching clinicians to recognize, treat and prevent pesticide illnesses and injuries."

Dr. Vearrier has published over 70 peer-reviewed publications; led as site principal investigator in several funded grants including those from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA); and has written seven book chapters. He is board certified in medical toxicology, occupational medicine, and emergency medicine. He is Chair of the Occupational and Environmental Toxicology Section of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology; and is a member of the the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the American College of Medical Toxicology, and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Vearrier received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California Berkeley and his Doctor of Medicine from University of California San Diego. He completed his Residency in Emergency Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, his Fellowship in Medical Toxicology in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, and completed his Residency in Occupational Medicine from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Vearrier also received his Master of Public Health from Drexel University.

Dr. Vearrier joins other members of the PERC-med Advisory Board, including:

• Fred Berman of Oregon Health and Science University
• Kaci Buhl of Oregon State University
• Suzanne Forsyth of UC Davis
• Charlotte Halverson of Agrisafe Network
• Jeff Jenkins of Oregon State University
• Catherine Karr of University of Washington
• Ouahiba Laribi of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment for the state of California
• Jennifer Park of the U.S. EPA
• Ana Rivera-Lupiañez of the U.S. EPA
• James Roberts of the Medical University of South Carolina
• Diane Rohlman of the University of Iowa
• Marc Schenker of UC Davis
• Michael Yeh of Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention