Professional Profile
Dr. Susan Borghoff is based in Research Triangle Park, NC. She is a board-certified toxicologist with over 35 years of experience designing and managing diverse research programs and regulator-driven in vitro and in vivo toxicology studies for commercial and federal clients. Her work has also included scientific and technical oversight, data analysis and interpretation, and preparation of both Final GLP Study Reports for regulatory submission and peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts. Dr. Borghoff has directed scientific research to support dose-response and hazard identification for incorporation into human health risk assessments.
Dr. Borghoff is a recognized expert on mechanisms by which agents cause toxicity, modulate endocrine pathways, and cause cancer in rodents, and the relevance of these responses for assessing human risk. Most recently, she has been involved in evaluating mechanistic data combined with experimental cancer animal studies to assess the potential of selected sweeteners to cause cancer in humans. Her research also has focused on understanding the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of agents using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for extrapolation of risk to humans. She has been involved with critical reviews of toxicity and carcinogenicity studies, advising on specific study designs to fill data gaps for understanding modes/mechanisms of action, and as an Expert Panel member for scientific oversight of industry-sponsored toxicity and carcinogenicity testing programs. Dr. Borghoff’s experience also includes implementing a program to conduct GLP regulatory studies associated with the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)-mandated Endocrine Disruption Screening Program (EDSP) and co-chairing a workshop titled, “Lessons Learned, Challenges, and Opportunities: The US Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program,” held in Research Triangle Park in 2013, to assess this program.
Dr. Borghoff has served as a reviewer on a number of panels and working groups for international organizations, including USEPA, National Cancer Institute, International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), and European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC). She also served on three Monograph Working Groups (Vol. 73, 77, and 82) of the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC), in addition to acting as Observer for Monograph Vol.115, 134, and for the advisory group meeting to recommend priorities (March 2019). She has been a reviewer for various grants through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and USEPA.
Dr. Borghoff received the Frank R. Blood Award in 1994 for the best paper of the year published in a Society of Toxicology (SOT) research journal, and an SOT Risk Assessment Specialty Section Award in 2000. She is a member of SOT’s North Carolina Chapter, and at the national level, has served on SOT Council, as well as various committees (e.g., Program, Awards, Education). Dr. Borghoff was a member of SOT’s TSCA Reform Task Force and was the Audit Committee Co-Chair. She has also served as an Associate Editor for Toxicological Sciences, along with other editorial positions for several scientific journals, including the editorial board of the International Journal of Toxicology.
Dr. Borghoff received her Ph.D. and MSPH in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina, and a B.S. in Chemistry from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. Dr. Borghoff became a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology in 1994.