Vanessa A. Fitsanakis earned a B.S. in chemistry from Milligan College in TN, an M.Sc. in science and technology studies from the University of Edinburgh in the U.K., and a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular neuroscience from Vanderbilt University in TN. Her dissertation and postdoctoral research focused on the neurotoxicity
of metals and metal-containing compounds that are related to the damage and death of cells (neurons) in the brain. She has held academic and research positions at undergraduate (King University) and medical (Vanderbilt University and the
Medical University of South Carolina) schools. She was also a tenured Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Northeast Ohio Medical University.
Dr. Fitsanakis is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences (ATS), an active member in the Society of Toxicology (SOT), and a current officer in the Neurotoxicology Specialty Section of SOT. As a member of grant review panels for the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Fitsanakis has reviewed research grant applications focused on the toxicity of drugs, alcohol, metals, or pesticides.
Dr. Fitsanakis currently works for Robson Forensic as a neurotoxicologist, and she provides litigation support and causation analysis in matters involving alcohol, drugs of abuse, and prescription and recreational drugs, as well as environmental and occupational chemicals.
