David A. Schwartz (Director, NIEHS)

David A. Schwartz became the fourth Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in May, 2005. Dr. Schwartz oversees the Institute's comprehensive research portfolio of basic and applied research to reduce the burden of human diseases that are triggered by the environment. Dr. Schwartz also serves as the Director of the National Toxicology Program, an interagency program established in 1978 by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to test chemicals and other agents of public health concern.

Prior to accepting the role of NIEHS Director, Dr. Schwartz, a nationally recognized researcher and practicing physician specializing in environmental lung disease, served at Duke University, where he held concurrent positions at the Medical Center including Vice Chair for Research and Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Schwartz was Professor in the Department of Medicine, Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at the University since 2000. While at Duke, Dr. Schwartz played a pivotal role in establishing three interdisciplinary Centers in Environmental Health Sciences, Environmental Genomics, and Environmental Asthma, illustrating his commitment to bring together an array of scientific expertise with state-of-the-art technology to tackle critical public and individual health issues.

A native of New York, Dr. Schwartz earned his BA in biology from the University of Rochester in 1975. He received his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, in 1979. After completing a residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Boston City Hospital, he completed a fellowship in Occupational Medicine at Harvard School of Public Health, where he received his MPH in 1985. While at the University of Washington, Dr. Schwartz completed a research fellowship in the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, then served as a Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow. In 1988 he joined the faculty at the University of Iowa, where he rose through the ranks becoming Director of Occupational Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine, until he joined Duke University in 2000.