Meet William Slikker, Jr., Ph.D., Director, National Center for Toxicological Research

William Slikker, Jr. is responsible for the overall leadership of the National Center for Toxicological Research, a research component of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Slikker and his center are working to advance scientific approaches and tools to promote personalized medicine and enhance medical product safety assessment in support of regulatory science develop science-based, best-practice standards, guidance, and tools to incorporate advancements in the study of harmful substances (toxicology) to improve FDA’s regulatory process conduct research and develop technologies to protect the food supply conduct research and development in managing and analyzing biological data (bioinformatics) in support of FDA’s regulatory mission "Our center’s research and technical expertise are vital components of FDA’s decision-making,” says Dr. Slikker. “We provide a scientific basis for many of FDA’s food protection policies and regulatory decisions concerning medical products to improve public health."

Dr. Slikker received his Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of California at Davis. He performed his postdoctoral training in the Perinatal Research Program at FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research and at the Institute of Toxicology and Embryopharmacology, Freie Universität, Berlin.

Dr. Slikker holds adjunct professorships in the Department of Pediatrics, and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He has held leadership positions in several scientific societies including the Teratology Society, the MidSouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and the Society of Toxicology.

Dr. Slikker has authored or co-authored over 300 publications in the areas of transplacental pharmacokinetics, developmental neurotoxicology, neuroprotection, systems biology, and risk assessment.

Dr. Slikker is a co-founder of the International Conference on Neuroprotective Agents. He has served on national and international advisory panels including those for the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute/International Life Sciences Institute, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, and the World Health Organization. Dr. Slikker is also an invited member of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences and Associate Editor for NeuroToxicology and Toxicological Sciences.