Dr Paul C Turner is an Associate Professor within the Maryland Institute for Applied and Environmental Health in the School of Public Health at College Park, with an affiliate appointment in Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and an Associate Faculty with the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition/CFS3. Dr Turner is also The Director of Graduate Studies for the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health.
His research and teaching interests are in the areas of exposure assessment and molecular epidemiology of chronic disease. In particular he is interested in dietary toxins that are linked to cancer, immune suppression, growth retardation and reproductive toxicology. Toxins of particular concern include aflatoxins, fumonisins and deoxynivalenol. These are global dietary contaminants, with most of the health concerns restricted to developing countries where agricultural and food security is limited. Child and infant health in Africa has been a major focus over the last 10 years. Research has involved activities in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Cameroon, The Gambia, Guinea, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Iran, China, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, France and the UK. Fundamental research questions include (a) understanding the mechanism(s) of observational data on dose related aflatoxin growth faltering; (b) understanding synergistic interactions between aflatoxin and hepatitis virus in liver cancer risk; (c) understanding the potential contribution that aflatoxin plays in early life morbidity and mortality in developing countries, including modulations in susceptibility to infections; (d) development and implementation of sustainable interventions to restrict exposure in the most vulnerable groups; (e) understanding of global climate change models and their impact on changing world patterns and levels of toxin exposure. Prof Turner has an extensive publication record (H-index of 46) wherein he has addressed these research questions.