• Contact Information
• Department Sections
• Faculty and Staff
• Full Site Contents
• Graduates & Residents
• Laboratories
• Other Links

Teresa Leavens, PhD

Education

Ph.D., Curriculum in Toxicology, 1996, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. 

B.S., Chemical Engineering with Bioscience option, 1990, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1990. 

Research Area

Pharmacokinetic Modeling

Research Description 

My research focus is the development and application of mathematical models to describe the pharmacokinetic mechanisms of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of compounds in animals and humans.  These models can be used both to guide design of pharmacokinetic experiments and to extrapolate pharmacokinetic data among doses and species to predict internal doses of a xenobiotic or its active metabolites in target tissues at concentrations relevant to human exposure.  Recent modeling efforts have included developing models to describe biodistribution of nanoparticles, development of models for food animals to predict tissue residues of drugs and contaminants, updating prenatal physiologically based pharmacokinetic models in rats with a database of biological parameters, development of a model to describe olfactory transport of manganese to specific brain regions in rats, and route-specific modeling of exposure of rats to the fuel additive, methyl tertiary-butyl ether.

 

Publications

Leavens, T., Xia, X., Lee, H.,  Monteiro-Riviere, N.,  Brooks, J.,  and Riviere, J.  Uptake of Fullerene Nanoparticles in Isolated Perfused Skin.  Toxicol. Letters, (submitted 11/09).

Radcliffe, P., Leavens, T.L., Olabisi, A.O., Wagner, D.J., Wong, B.A., Struve, M.F.,  Chapman, G.D., and Dorman, D.C.  Pharmacokinetics of Radiolabeled Tungsten (188W) in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats Following  Acute Inhalation Exposure to Sodium Tungstate. Inhalation Tox., (accepted 3/20/09).

Leavens, T.L. and Borghoff, S.J.  Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model of methyl tertiary butyl ether and tertiary butyl alcohol with binding to a2u-globulin in the kidney.  Tox Sci 109(2):321-35, 2009.  [doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfp049]

Radcliffe, P., Olabisi, A.O., Wagner, D.J., Leavens, T.L., Wong, B.A., Struve, M.F., Chapman G.D., Wilfong, E.R., and Dorman, D.C.  Acute sodium tungstate inhalation is associated with minimal olfactory transport of tungsten (188W) to the rat brain Neurotox., 30(3):445-50), 2009.  [doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.02.004]   

Lee, H.A., Leavens, T.L., Mason, S.E., Monteiro-Riviere, N.A., and Riviere, J.E.  Comparison of Quantum Dot Biodistribution with a Blood Flow-Limited Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model. Nano letters 9(2):794–799, 2009.

Leavens, T.L., Blount, B.C.,  DeMarini, D.M., Madden, M.C., Valentine, J.C., Case‌‌‌, M.W., Silva, L.K., Warren, S.H., Hanley, M.M.,  and Pegram, R.S.  Disposition of bromodichloromethane in humans following oral and dermal exposure.  Tox. Sci., 99(2):432-45, 2007. [doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfm190]     

Leavens, T.L., Rao, D., Andersen, M.E., and Dorman, D.C. Evaluating transport of manganese from olfactory mucosa to striatum by pharmacokinetic modeling.  Tox. Sci., 97(2):265–78, 2007.

Leavens, T.L., Parkinson, C.U., James. R.A.,  House, D.,  Elswick, B.,  Dorman, D.C.  Respiration in Sprague Dawley rats during pregnancy.  Inh.Tox., 18:305–312, 2006.

Prah, J.D., Ashley, D.L.,  Leavens, T.L., Pleil, J.D., Blount, B., and Case, M.W.  Uptake and Elimination of Methyl tertiary Butyl Ether and tertiary Butyl Alcohol in Human Volunteers Exposed by Inhalation, Ingestion, and Dermal Absorption.  Tox. Sci,  77 (2):195–205, 2004.

Prah, J.D., Blount, B, Cardinali, F.L., Ashley, D.L., Leavens, T.L., and Case, M.W. The development and testing of a dermal exposure system for pharmacokinetic studies of administered and ambient water contaminants. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods. 47(3):189–95, 2002.

Leavens, T.L., Sparrow, B.R.., and M.J. Devito.  Antiandrogenic effects and disposition of 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE) in adult, male rats.  Toxicology, 174:69–78, 2002.

Leavens, T.L., Farris, G.A., James, A.R., Shah, R., Wong, V.A., Marshall, M., and J.A. Bond.  Genotoxicity and cytotoxicity  following exposure to mixtures of 1,3-butadiene and styrene.  Environ. Mol. Mutagen.  29: 335–345, 1997.

Leavens, T.L., Moss, O.R., Turner, M.J., Janszen, D., and J.A. Bond.  Metabolic interactions of 1,3-butadiene and styrene in male B6C3F1 mice.  Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.   141: 628–636, 1996.

Leavens, T.L., Moss, O.R., and J.A. Bond.  A dynamic inhalation system for individual whole-body exposures of mice to volatile organic chemicals.  Inhal. Toxicol. 8: 655–677, 1996.

Leavens, T.L. and J.A. Bond.  Pharmacokinetic model describing the disposition of butadiene and styrene in mice.  Toxicology  113: 310–313, 1996.