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Person Details: Thomas F. Webster

Superfund Research Program

Thomas F. Webster

Boston University
Department of Environmental Health
Talbot, 4W
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
Phone: 617-638-4620
Fax: 617-638-4857
Email: twebster@bu.edu

Projects

Research Briefs

Hazardous Waste Sites

New Bedford Harbor

  • Boston University: Analyzing Patterns in Epidemiologic and Toxicologic Data

Otis Air National Guard Base/Camp Edwards

  • Boston University: Analyzing Patterns in Epidemiologic and Toxicologic Data

Publications

2023

  • McGee G, Wilson A, Coull BA, Webster TF. 2023. Incorporating biological knowledge in analyses of environmental mixtures and health. Stat Med doi:10.1002/sim.9765 PMID:37161723
  • Schildroth S, Friedman A, White RF, Kordas K, Placidi D, Bauer J, Webster TF, Coull BA, Cagna G, Wright RO, Smith D, Lucchini R, Horton MK, Henn BC. 2023. Associations of an industry-relevant metal mixture with verbal learning and memory in Italian adolescents: The modifying role of iron status. Environ Res 224:115457. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.115457 PMID:36773645 PMCID:PMC10117691

2022

  • McGee G, Wilson A, Coull BA, Webster TF. 2022. Integrating biological knowledge in kernel-based analyses of environmental mixtures and health. Arxiv doi:10.48550/arXiv.1902.05878
  • Sen P, Qadri S, Luukkonen PK, Ragnarsdottir O, McGlinchey A, Jantti S, Juuti A, Arola J, Schlezinger JJ, Webster TF, Oresic M, Yki-Jarvinen H, Hyotylainen T. 2022. Exposure to environmental contaminants is associated with altered hepatic lipid metabolism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol 76(2):doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2021.09.039 PMID:34627976

2021

  • Ceballos DM, Young AS, Allen JG, Specht AJ, Nguyen VT, Craig J, Miller M, Webster TF. 2021. Exposures in nail salons to trace elements in nail polish from impurities or pigment ingredients - A pilot study. Int J Hyg Environ Health 232:113687. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113687 PMID:33445102 PMCID:PMC7854487
  • De Silva AO, Armitage JM, Bruton TA, Dassuncao C, Heiger-Bernays WJ, Hu XC, Karrman A, Kelly B, Ng CA, Robuck AR, Sun M, Webster TF, Sunderland EM. 2021. PFAS exposure pathways for humans and wildlife: A synthesis of current knowledge and key gaps in understanding. Environ Toxicol Chem 40(3):631-657. doi:10.1002/etc.4935 PMID:33201517 PMCID:PMC7906948
  • McGee G, Wilson A, Webster TF, Coull BA. 2021. Bayesian multiple index models for environmental mixtures. Biometrics doi:10.1111/biom.13569 PMID:34562016
  • Rider CV, McHale CM, Webster TF, Lowe L, Goodson III WH, La Merrill MA, Rice G, Zeise L, Zhang L, Smith MT. 2021. Using the key characteristics of carcinogens to develop research on chemical mixtures and cancer. Environ Health Perspect 129(3):35003. doi:10.1289/EHP8525 PMID:33784186 PMCID:PMC8009606
  • Schlezinger JJ, Hyotylainen T, Sinjoja T, Moore Boston C, Puckett H, Oliver J, Heiger-Bernays WJ, Webster TF. 2021. Perfluorooctanoic acid induces liver and serum dyslipidemia in humanized PPAR(alpha) mice fed an American diet. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 426:115644. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2021.115644 PMID:34252412 PMCID:PMC8338894

2020

  • Aschengrau A, Winter MR, Gallagher L, Vieira VM, Butler L, Fabian MP, Carwile JL, Wesselink AK, Mahalingaiah S, Janulewicz PA, Weinberg JM, Webster TF, Ozonoff DM. 2020. Reproductive and developmental health effects of prenatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene-contaminated drinking water. Environ Sci Process Impacts 22:555-566. doi:10.1039/c9em00590k PMID:32051987
  • de la Rosa R, Schlezinger JJ, Smith MT, Webster TF. 2020. Application of generalized concentration addition to predict mixture effects of glucocorticoid receptor ligands. Toxicol Vitro 69(7):104975. doi:10.1016/j.tiv.2020.104975 PMID:32858110 PMCID:PMC7594746
  • Schlezinger JJ, Puckett H, Nielsen OG, Heiger-Bernays WJ, Webster TF. 2020. Perfluorooctanoic acid activates multiple nuclear receptor pathways and skews expression of genes regulating cholesterol homeostasis in liver of humanized PPAR alpha mice fed an American diet. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 405:115204. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2020.115204 PMID:32822737 PMCID:PMC7503133

2019

  • Ceballos DM, Craig J, Fu X, Jia C, Chambers D, Chu MT, Fernandez AT, Fruh V, Petropoulos ZE, Allen JG, Vallarino J, Thornburg L, Webster TF. 2019. Biological and environmental exposure monitoring of volatile organic compounds among nail technicians in the Greater Boston area. Indoor Air doi:10.1111/ina.12564 PMID:31112343
  • Craig J, Ceballos DM, Fruh V, Petropoulos ZE, Allen JG, Calafat AM, Ospina M, Stapleton HM, Hammel SC, Gray R, Webster TF. 2019. Exposure of nail salon workers to phthalates, di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate, and organophosphate esters: A pilot study. Environ Sci Technol 53:14630-14637. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b02474 PMID:31736299
  • Edwards L, Watt J, Webster TF, Schlezinger JJ. 2019. Assessment of total, ligand-induced peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma ligand activity in serum. Environ Health 18(45):doi:10.1186/s12940-019-0486-2 PMID:31072366 PMCID:PMC6506953

2018

  • Weisskopf MG, Seals RM, Webster TF. 2018. Bias amplification in epidemiologic analysis of exposure to mixtures. Environ Health Perspect 126:8. doi:10.1289/ehp2450 PMID:29624292

2017

  • Gallagher LG, Webster TF, Aschengrau A. 2017. Exploring associations between prenatal solvent exposures and teenage drug and alcohol use: a retrospective cohort study. Environ Health 16(1):26. doi:10.1186/s12940-017-0232-6 PMID:28283038 PMCID:PMC5346200
  • Hammel SC, Hoffman K, Lorenzo AM, Chen A, Phillips AL, Butt CM, Sosa JA, Webster TF, Stapleton HM. 2017. Associations between flame retardant applications in furniture foam, house dust levels, and residents' serum levels. Environ Int 107:181-189. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2017.07.015 PMID:28750223 PMCID:PMC5572835
  • Kassotis CD, Masse L, Kim S, Schlezinger JJ, Webster TF, Stapleton HM. 2017. Characterization of adipogenic chemicals in three different cell culture systems: Implications for reproducibility based on cell source and handling. Sci Rep 7(42104):doi:10.1038/srep42104 PMID:28176856 PMCID:PMC5296734
  • Vieira VM, Fabian MP, Webster TF, Levy JI, Korrick SA. 2017. Spatial variability in ADHD-related behaviors among children born to mothers residing near the New Bedford Harbor superfund site. Am J Epidemiol 185(10):1-9. doi:10.1093/aje/kww208 PMID:28444119 PMCID:PMC5430935 (ahead of print)

2016

  • Aschengrau A, Gallagher LG, Winter MR, Vieira VM, Webster TF, Janulewicz PA, Ozonoff DM. 2016. No association between unintentional head injuries and early-life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water. J Occup Environ Med 58(10):1040-1045. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000850 PMID:27513173 PMCID:PMC5704661
  • Aschengrau A, Janulewicz PA, White RF, Vieira VM, Gallagher LG, Getz KD, Webster TF, Ozonoff DM. 2016. Long-term neurotoxic effects of early-life exposure to tetrachloroethylene-contaminated drinking water. Ann Glob Health 82(1):169-179. doi:10.1016/j.aogh.2016.01.013 PMID:27325074 PMCID:PMC4916338
  • Braun JM, Gennings C, Hauser R, Webster TF. 2016. What can epidemiological studies tell us about the impact of chemical mixtures on human health?. Environ Health Perspect 124(1):A6-A9. doi:10.1289/ehp.1510569 PMID:26720830 PMCID:PMC4710611
  • Carignan C, Fang M, Stapleton HM, Heiger-Bernays WJ, McClean MD, Webster TF. 2016. Urinary biomarkers of flame retardant exposure among collegiate US gymnasts. Environ Int 94:362-368. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2016.06.030 PMID:27395335 PMCID:PMC4980234
  • Hammel SC, Hoffman K, Webster TF, Anderson KA, Stapleton HM. 2016. Measuring personal exposure to organophosphate flame retardants using silicone wristbands and hand wipes. Environ Sci Technol 50(8):4483-4491. doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b00030 PMID:26975559 PMCID:PMC4872512
  • Taylor KW, Joubert BR, Braun JM, Dilworth C, Gennings C, Hauser R, Heindel JJ, Rider CV, Webster TF, Carlin DJ. 2016. Statistical approaches for assessing health effects of environmental chemical mixtures in epidemiology: lessons from an innovative workshop. Environ Health Perspect 124(12):A227-A229. doi:10.1289/EHP547 PMID:27905274 PMCID:PMC5132642
  • Watt J, Webster TF, Schlezinger JJ. 2016. Generalized concentration addition modeling predicts mixture effects of environmental PPARγ agonists. Toxicol Sci 153(1):18-27. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfw100 PMID:27255385 PMCID:PMC5013877

2015

  • Aschengrau A, Winter MR, Vieira VM, Webster TF, Janulewicz PA, Gallagher LG, Weinberg JM, Ozonoff DM. 2015. Long-term health effects of early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study. Environ Health 14:36. doi:10.1186/s12940-015-0021-z PMID:25889838 PMCID:PMC4397674
  • Fang M, Webster TF, Ferguson PL, Stapleton HM. 2015. Characterizing the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) ligand binding potential of several major flame retardants, their metabolites, and chemical mixtures in house dust. Environ Health Perspect 123(2):166-172. doi:10.1289/ehp.1408522 PMID:25314719 PMCID:PMC4314249
  • Fang M, Webster TF, Stapleton HM. 2015. Activation of human peroxisome proliferator-activated nuclear receptors (PPARγ1) by semi-volatile compounds (SVOCs) and chemical mixtures in indoor dust. Environ Sci Technol 49(16):10057-10064. doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b01523 PMID:26172262 PMCID:PMC4786016
  • Hoffman K, Aschengrau A, Webster TF, Bartell SM, Vieira VM. 2015. Associations between residence at birth and mental health disorders: a spatial analysis of retrospective cohort data. BMC Public Health 15:688. doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2011-z PMID:26195105 PMCID:PMC4508761

2014

  • Pillai HK, Fang M, Beglov D, Kozakov D, Vajda S, Stapleton HM, Webster TF, Schlezinger JJ. 2014. Ligand binding and activation of PPARγ by Firemaster® 550: effects on adipogenesis and osteogenesis in vitro. Environ Health Perspect 122(11):1225-1232. doi:10.1289/ehp.1408111 PMID:25062436 PMCID:PMC4216168

2013

2012

  • Bliss RL, Weinberg JM, Webster TF, Vieira VM. 2012. Determining the probability distribution and evaluating sensitivity and false positive rate of a confounder detection method applied to logistic regression. J Biom Biostat 3(4):142. doi:10.4172/2155-6180.1000142 PMID:23420565 PMCID:PMC3571096
  • Springer C, Dere E, Hall SJ, McDonnell EV, Roberts SC, Butt CM, Stapleton HM, Watkins DJ, McClean MD, Webster TF, Schlezinger JJ, Boekelheide K. 2012. Rodent thyroid, liver, and fatal testis toxicity of the monoester metabolite of Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) Tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), a novel brominated flame retardant present in indoor dust. Environ Health Perspect 120:1711-1719. doi:10.1289/ehp.1204932 PMID:23014847 PMCID:PMC3548273
  • Weinberg JM, Vieira VM, Webster TF, Bliss RL. 2012. Adjusted significance cutoffs for hypothesis tests applied with generalized additive models with bivariate smoothers. Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol 2(4):291-300. doi:10.1016/j.sste.2011.09.001 PMID:22748227 PMCID:PMC3389351

2010

  • Bliss RL, Weinberg JM, Vieira VM, Ozonoff A, Webster TF. 2010. Power of permutation tests using generalized additive models with bivariate smoothers. J Biom Biostat 1:doi:10.4172/2155-6180.1000104 PMID:21701694 PMCID:PMC3119353
  • DiGangi J, Blum A, Bergman A, de Wit CA, Lucas D, Mortimer D, Schecter A, Scheringer M, Shaw SD, Webster TF. 2010. San Antonio statement on brominated and chlorinated flame retardants. Environ Health Perspect 118(12):A516-A518. doi:10.1289/ehp.1003089 PMID:21123135 PMCID:PMC3002202
  • Gallagher LG, Webster TF, Aschengrau A, Vieira VM. 2010. Using residential history and groundwater modeling to examine drinking water exposure and breast cancer. Environ Health Perspect 118(6):749-755. doi:10.1289/ehp.0901547 PMID:20164002 PMCID:PMC2898849
  • Hoffman K, Webster TF, Weisskopf MG, Weinberg JM, Vieira VM. 2010. Exposure to polyfluoroalkyl chemicals and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in U.S. children 12-15 years of age. Environ Health Perspect 118:1762-1767. doi:10.1289/ehp.1001898 PMID:20551004 PMCID:PMC3002197
  • Howard G, Schlezinger JJ, Hahn ME, Webster TF. 2010. Generalized concentration addition predicts joint effects of aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists with partial agonists and competitive antagonists. Environ Health Perspect 118(5):666-672. doi:10.1289/ehp.0901312 PMID:20435555 PMCID:PMC2866683
  • Vieira VM, Hart JE, Webster TF, Weinberg JM, Laden F, Costenbader K, Karlson E, Puett R. 2010. Association between residences in US northern latitudes and rheumatoid arthritis: a spatial analysis of the Nurses' Health Study. Environ Health Perspect 118(7):957-961. doi:10.1289/ehp.0901861 PMID:20338859 PMCID:PMC2920915
  • Young RL, Weinberg JM, Vieira VM, Aschengrau A, Webster TF. 2010. A multilevel non-hierarchical study of birth weight and socioeconomic status. Int J Health Geogr 9:36. doi:10.1186/1476-072X-9-36 PMID:20618954 PMCID:PMC2909180

2008

  • Aschengrau A, Gallagher LG, Webster TF, Heeren T, Ozonoff DM, Spence LA. 2008. Evaluation of the Webler-Brown model for estimating tetrachloroethylene exposure from vinyl-lined asbestos-cement pipes. Environ Health 7:24. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-7-24 PMID:18518975 PMCID:PMC2432054
  • Aschengrau A, Weinberg JM, Rogers S, Gallagher LG, Winter MR, Vieira VM, Webster TF, Ozonoff DM. 2008. Prenatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene-contaminated drinking water and the risk of adverse birth outcomes. Environ Health Perspect 116(6):814-820. doi:10.1289/ehp.10414 PMID:18560539 PMCID:PMC2430239
  • Janulewicz PA, White RF, Winter MR, Weinberg JM, Gallagher LG, Vieira VM, Webster TF, Aschengrau A. 2008. Risk of learning and behavioral disorders following prenatal and early postnatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water. Neurotoxicol Teratol 30(3):175-185. doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2008.01.007 PMID:18353612 PMCID:PMC2494864
  • Nelson J, Scammell MK, Webster TF, Ozonoff DM, Altman RG. 2008. A new spin on research translation: The Boston Consensus Conference on Human Biomonitoring. Environ Health Perspect 117:495-499. doi:10.1289/ehp.0800037 PMID:19440485 PMCID:PMC2679590
  • Vieira VM, Webster TF, Weinberg JM, Aschengrau A. 2008. Spatial-temporal analysis of breast cancer in upper Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Int J Health Geogr 7:46. doi:10.1186/1476-072X-7-46 PMID:18700963 PMCID:PMC2538515
  • Webster TF, Hoffman K, Weinberg JM, Vieira VM, Aschengrau A. 2008. Community- and individual-level socioeconomic status and breast cancer risk: multilevel modeling on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Environ Health Perspect 116(8):1125-1129. doi:10.1289/ehp.10818 PMID:18709175 PMCID:PMC2516595

2007

  • Howard G, Schlezinger JJ, Webster TF. 2007. Interactions of TCDD with AhR partial agonists and a competitive antagonist: implications for TEFs. Organohalogen Compounds 69:1065-1068.

2006

  • Vieira VM, Webster TF, Weinberg JM, Aschengrau A. 2006. Temporal-Spatial analysis of breast cancer on upper Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In: Proceedings of the Spatial Epidemiology Conference, 2006. London, United Kingdom. pp.115-119.
  • Vieira VM, Webster TF, Weinberg JM, Aschengrau A. 2006. Temporal-spatial analysis of breast cancer risk on upper Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Epidemiology 19:S484.
  • Webster TF. 2006. Cross-level bias in partially ecologic studies. In: Proceedings of the Spatial Epidemiology Conference, 2006. London, United Kingdom. pp.127-132.
  • Webster TF, Vieira VM, Weinberg JM, Aschengrau A. 2006. Method for mapping population-based case-control studies: an application using generalized additive models. Int J Health Geogr 5:26. doi:10.1186/1476-072X-5-26 PMID:16764727 PMCID:PMC1526437
  • Webster TF, Weinberg JM, Vieira VM, Hoffman K, Aschengrau A. 2006. The impact of community and individual-level socioeconomic status on the risk of breast cancer: multi-level modeling in Massachusetts. Epidemiology 17(6):S210.

2005

  • Ozonoff A, Webster TF, Vieira VM, Weinberg JM, Ozonoff DM, Aschengrau A. 2005. Cluster detection methods applied to the Upper Cape Cod cancer data. Environ Health 4:19. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-4-19 PMID:16164750 PMCID:PMC1242352
  • Vieira VM, Webster TF, Weinberg JM, Aschengrau A. 2005. Spatial analysis of low birth weight on Cape Cod, MA using generalized additive modeling. Epidemiology 16(5):S104.
  • Vieira VM, Webster TF, Weinberg JM, Aschengrau A, Ozonoff DM. 2005. Spatial analysis of lung, colorectal, and breast cancer on Cape Cod: an application of generalized additive models to case-control data. Environ Health 4:11. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-4-11 PMID:15955253 PMCID:PMC1183231
  • Webster TF, Vieira VM. 2005. Negative confounding in spatial epidemiology: an example from breast cancer. Epidemiology 16(5):S105-S106.

2004

  • Schlezinger JJ, Howard G, Hurst CH, Emberley JK, Waxman DJ, Webster TF, Sherr DH. 2004. Environmental and endogenous peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists induce bone marrow B cell growth arrest and apoptosis: Interactions between mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, 9-cis-retinoic acid, and 15-Deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2). J Immunol 173(5):3165-3177. PMID:15322177

2003

  • Webster TF, Sherr DH. 2003. Types of AhREs and their Implications. Organohalogen Compounds 65:106-109.
  • Webster TF, Vieira VM, Weinberg JM, Aschengrau A. 2003. Spatial Analysis of Lung, Breast and Colorectal Cancer Using Generalized Additive Models. In: Proceedings of the EUROHEIS-SAHSU (European Health and Environment Information System-Small Area Health Statistics Unit) Conference 2003. Small Area Health Statistics Unit. Imperial College, London, England.

2002

  • Vieira VM, Webster TF, Aschengrau A, Ozonoff DM. 2002. A method for spatial analysis of risk in a population-based case-control study. Int J Hyg Environ Health 205(1-2):115-120. PMID:12018004
  • Webster TF. 2002. Commentary: Does the specter of ecologic bias haunt epidemiology?. Int J Epidemiol 31:161-162. PMID:11914313

2000

  • Webster TF. 2000. Bias in ecologic and semi-individual studies. D.Sc. Thesis. Boston University.
  • Webster TF. 2000. Bias magnification in ecologic studies. In: Proceedings of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. Buffalo, NY.
  • Webster TF. 2000. Can semi-individual studies have ecologic bias?. In: Proceedings of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. Buffalo, NY.

1997

  • Ozonoff DM, Paulu C, Webster TF. 1997. New methods for analyzing disease clusters in relation to environmental features. In: Silent Spring Institute, Breast Cancer and Environmental Features of Cape Cod. Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA.
  • Ozonoff DM, Webster TF. 1997. The lattice diagram and 2 x 2 tables. Toxicol Ind Health 13(2-3):339-355. PMID:9200799
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