Jose J. Perez

Office:  ES&T L2-108

Office Phone:  404-385-4427

E-mail: awt6@cdc.gov

Education

Aug 2007 - Present   Georgia Institute of Technology, Ph.D. Student, Analytical Chemistry

2002                       Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, B.S. Chemistry

Honors and Awards

2007 CDC & ATSDR Honor Award in Public Health, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Research

2004 Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Award for Superior Performance

2003 Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Research Participation Program at the CDC

2001 Welch Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Research Interests

Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) Analysis of Pesticides

I currently work as a full-time chemist at the CDC. I am responsible for the development, validation, and implementation of GC/MS and GC/HRMS analytical methods for measuring trace levels of pesticides and pesticide metabolites in human body fluids (i.e. urine, blood plasma/serum, etc.). These methods are used in epidemiological studies to determine exposure levels of select populations and/or correlations between pesticide levels and exposure. In addition to my work at CDC, I am also a part-time student at Georgia Tech working in the mass spec group of Dr. Facundo Fernández. My current goal as a beginning student in this lab is to use DESI (Desorption ElectroSpray Ionization) for the surface analysis of various objects (e.g. fruits, etc.) to measure pesticides on these surfaces. Because of the many applications and the power of mass spectrometry, I hope to eventually pursue the new area of imaging mass spectrometry and utilize the capabilities of this application to pesticide analysis in biological samples. My goal as a chemist at CDC and a student at Georgia Tech is to combine the scientific ideas and creativity from both institutions into a successful and exciting Ph.D. project and degree.

Publications

1. "Simultaneous Determination of Synthetic Pyrethroids, Organophosphates, and Carbamates in Human Blood Plasma Using Isotope Dilution Gas Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry", Jose J. Perez, Megan H. Williams, Gayanga Weerasekera, Kimberly Smith, Robin M. Whyatt, Larry L. Needham, Dana B. Barr, In Preparation.

2. "A New Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Endosulfan, its Metabolites, and Methoxychlor Metabolites in Human Urine Using Gas Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry and Isotope Dilution Quantification", Roberto Bravo, Jose J. Perez, Paula A. Restrepo, Lisa M. Caltabiano, Amanda M. Bishop, Ralph D. Whitehead Jr., Larry L. Needham, Dana B. Barr, In Preparation.

3. "Cross Validation of Multiple Methods for Measuring Pyrethroid and Pyrethrum Insecticide Metabolites in Human Urine", Dana B. Barr, Gabriele Leng, Edith Berger-Preiss, Hans-Wolfgang Hoppe, Gayanga Weerasekera, Wolfgang Gries, Susanne Gerling, Jose Perez, Kimberly Smith, Larry L. Needham, Jürgen Angerer, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2007, 389, 811-818.

4. "Quantification of Phenolic Metabolites of Environmental Chemicals in Human Urine Using Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Isotope Dilution Quantification", Roberto Bravo, Lisa M. Caltabiano, Carolina Fernandez, Kimberly D. Smith, Maribel Gallegos, Ralph D. Whitehead Jr., Gayanga Weerasekera, Paula Restrepo, Amanda M. Bishop, Jose J. Perez, Larry L. Needham, Dana B. Barr, Journal of Chromatography B, 2005, 820, 229-236.