This summer, some yellow-fever mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus are expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast and elsewhere in the continental United States. Health officials are urging people to use insect repellents with DEET to avoid being bitten. The mounting evidence that the virus is strongly linked with birth defects makes this a priority for pregnant women. But is it safe to use repellents containing DEET with a baby on the way?… In 2010, researchers, including some from the C.D.C., analyzed the blood of 150 pregnant women in New Jersey and their umbilical cords for a range of pesticides. “DEET was not at remarkable levels,” said Mark Robson, the study’s senior author and a professor of plant biology and pathology at Rutgers University. “Birth weight, length and circumference were all normal” for all infants.
Search Results for: "Mark Robson"
Investing in Global Food Security: Doctoral Student David Byrnes Named Kirchner Food Fellow
Rutgers doctoral student David Byrnes has been selected as one of three Kirchner Food Fellows for 2015-2016. The purpose of the Kirchner Food Fellowship program is to foster the development of individuals who have the practical skills and knowledge to make effective investments in emerging agricultural technologies that can address global food security. David Byrnes […]
Five SEBS Faculty Honored by Rutgers for Teaching, Research, Service and Diversity Initiatives
Members of the university community who have made outstanding contributions in the classroom, to their disciplines, or for the benefit of the community or world were honored during a May 5 reception at the Rutgers Visitor Center. Five faculty members of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences received awards at the event. They include […]
Katie Fudacz (SEBS Dec. ’14): From Farm-to-Table to Bloomberg L.P.
When Katie Fudacz (SEBS Dec. ‘14) embarked on her G. H. Cook Honors Program thesis, little did she know it would be her calling card for several job offers in her senior year, including the one she finally chose with Bloomberg L.P. “I really didn’t see myself working in the private sector,” said Fudacz. “As […]
Six Receive George Hammell Cook and Dennis Fenton Distinguished Alumni Awards
Six graduates of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (and its predecessors) were honored with alumni awards for outstanding achievement at an annual luncheon and celebration on April 26, 2015, at the Cook Student Center. The honorees receiving the George Hammell Cook Distinguished Alumni Award, given to those with undergraduate degrees from the school, […]
Beware- Toxic Pesticides Used at Vacation Spots
It was a vacation nightmare. A Wilmington family of four staying in a Virgin Islands condo, with idyllic views of Cruz Bay on St. John, suddenly became seriously ill. So ill that they were airlifted home and hospitalized, the father and two teenage boys in critical condition… The likely scenario that has emerged is that they were poisoned after methyl bromide was sprayed in the condo underneath the one where the family was staying. The pesticide is banned in many countries and is not authorized for use in residences in the U.S… “In many developing counties where there is a protracted man vs. insect battle, lots of misapplications take place,” said Mark Robson, a professor in Rutgers University’s School of Environmental and Plant Sciences. He also edits the Journal of Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. “One should be cautious, avoid the applications when possible, and assume they will occur in developing countries.”… Robson said he has been sprayed as he sat by the pool at a resort in Africa, in airplanes, and even one time in a sauna in Poland. “Many places have unqualified people making these applications, typically in long white coats and wearing gloves and goggles, while you sit there by the pool in only a bathing suit.”
Announcement: Laura Lawson to Lead New Office of Agriculture and Urban Programs
Announcement from Robert M. Goodman, Executive Dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences I am delighted to announce the appointment, effective immediately, of Professor Laura Lawson as our new Dean of Agriculture and Urban Programs at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Laura succeeds Professor Mark Robson who has ably served […]
Entrepreneurship Agriculture Day 2014 — Another Success!
On October 18, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) celebrated its second Entrepreneurship Agriculture (EA) Day on Cook Campus. This event was part of the Entrepreneurship Ag Program initiated at SEBS in Spring 2013 and comprised the teaching of a Jr/Sr Colloquium on Entrepreneurial Agriculture, a competitive student internship on Entrepreneurship Agriculture and […]
Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
We congratulate these SEBS and NJAES faculty and staff on their accomplishments, appointments and awards below. For university-wide announcements, please visit the Rutgers Faculty and Staff Newsletter. 2026 Erin Comollo, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Family and Community Health Sciences (FCHS), and FCHS Minor Program Director; Karla Esquilín-Lebrón, teaching instructor in the Department of […]
Bangkok, Thailand: Knowledge and Perspective to Last a Lifetime by Veronica Walentowicz (SEBS 2015)
Mark Robson, professor of plant biology and pathology, has been working in Thailand for 20 years. His activities have included being a Fulbright Senior Scientist, teaching risk assessment under a program funded by the Asian Development Bank and training young environmental health scientists under the NIH-funded Fogarty Center. Because of his deep association with Thailand, […]








