Protecting the Environment
She has dedicated herself to studying human influences on the environment. Anne Tilghman Hall researches the effect of crop protection agents on the environment.
As a student, I decided to become a whale researcher. I’ve always loved nature and am fascinated by the way that living creatures adapt to their environment. So when studying for my bachelor’s degree in biology, I investigated the populations of humpback whales off the West Coast of Greenland and in the Caribbean. I also wanted to assess the influence of humans on their feeding behavior. At the same time, I worked part-time for Greenpeace one summer. We both wanted to protect whales. But Greenpeace’s attitude towards threats was too narrowly focused for me. I wanted to look at things from different perspectives
Assessing Risks
From 2015-2017 I was the team lead of Bayer’s Nontarget Plant Experts in Monheim Germany. We investigated the potential side effects and conducted risk assessments of Bayer products plants that grow neat the treated crops. From 2017-019 I became the Director of Bayer’s Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment Team in the United States; this team looks at the broader picture assessing potential effects on aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. I am now the Head of Environmental Safety for North America leading a team of outstanding scientist that ensure the environmental safety of BCS products and support sustainable agriculture and pest control options. If I discover that a product might have the potential for side effects on the environment, the interesting part of the work begins. I look to understand the possible interactions and if needed develop solutions that will make the product even safer without changing its targeted effect. I love scientific challenges!
A ‘Go With The Flow’ Kind of Woman
When I was an expat, I had a lot of fun and visited various places in Europe. However, if I could choose where to live, I’d choose the US because of my family. They are very important to me, but I came to Germany without them. So during my first week in Monheim, I thought, ”What have I done?“ But I quickly came to appreciate the joys of living abroad and discovering differences in culture. It was an adventure I don’t regret. I often went hiking, and now I also enjoy urban hiking in different cities. That’s something I never did in the US. But even though I like hiking, I miss the sea. I’ll always be drawn to the water.
Back in my days as a whale researcher, I learned that some things turn out differently than you expect. For example, while I was working on my master’s degree, the whales I was studying suddenly had to move to different feeding grounds and location, making my project not feasible. So I changed my research focus, and concentrated on the ecotoxicological effects of foreign materials on the environment instead. And that's what I’ve been doing ever since. It led me to Bayer, where I have spent the past 24 years.
CV Tilghman Hall
| 1981 – 1984 | Bachelor of Science in Biology, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL |
| 1987 | Masters of Environmental Science, Miami University, Oxford, OH |
| 1993 | Ph.D. in Zoology (Aquatic Toxicology), Miami University, Oxford, OH |
| 1988 – 1993 | Teaching Associate, Research Assistant, Instructor and Post-doctoral Research Associate, Miami University, Department of Zoology, Oxford, OH, USA |
| 1993 – 1996 | Senior Scientist, Environmental Toxicology Group, Sandoz AGRO, INC, Chicago, IL, USA |
| 1996 – 2008 | Co-manager of Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory, Environmental Toxicologist, Global Lead Scientist Aquatic Toxicology, Bayer CropScience, Stilwell, Kansas USA |
| 2005 –current | FIFRA Endangered Species Task Force (FESTF) - Technical Chair |
| 2006 – 2008 | Board of Directors of North America Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |
| 2008 – 2015 | Research and Development Fellow and Senior Principle Scientist, Bayer CropScience, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA |
| 2008 - 2013 | Endangered Species Issues Management Team – Chair, CropLife America |
| 2015 – 2017 | Team Lead Nontarget Plants and R&D Fellow, Bayer CropScience, Monheim, Germany |
| 2017 – 2019 | Director of Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment Team, Bayer, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA |
| 2019 –current | VP Environmental Safety North America, Bayer Cop Science LP, Chesterfield, Missouri, USA |
Selected Publications
New Approach to Weight-of-Evidence Assessment of Ecotoxicological Effects in Regulatory Decision-Making.
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management
Hall, A.T., SE Bellanger, PD Guiney, MG Burgos, G Maack, OV Martin. 2017.
Bias is creeping into the science behind risk assessments and undermining its use and credibility – A Perspectives Column.
Environmental Toxicology Chemistry 35: 1068–1074
Forbes VE, T Hall, G Suter, P Calow, S Cormier, R Brain, J Staveley, L Ortego, M Ågerstrand, K Elliott. 2016.
Assessing pesticide risks to threatened and endangered species using population models: Findings and recommendations from a CropLife American Science Forum.
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management11: 348-354
Forbes, V, R Brain, D Edwards, N Galic, T Hall, J Honegger, C Meyer, D Moore, D Nacci, R Pastorok, T Preuss, S Railsback, C Salice, R Sibly, B Tenhumberg, P Thorbek, and M Wang. 2015.
Pesticides Regulation and Endangered Species Act. (Book Editor)
American Chemistry Society, Washington DC.
KD Racke, BD McGaughey, J L Cowles, AT Hall, SH Jackson, JJ Jenkins and JJ Johnston, 2012.
Data quality, reliability, and relevance standards for ecological risk assessment: Recommendations for improvement to pesticide regulations in compliance with the Endangered Species Act.
Pesticides Regulation and Endangered Species Act.
AT Hall, BD McGaughey, JA Gagne. American Chemistry Society, Washington DC, 2012.
Adult fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, partial life-cycle reproductive and gonadal histopathology study with bisphenol A.
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 31(11): 2525-35
Mihaich, EM, J Rhodes, J Wolf, N van der Hoeven, DR Dietrich, AT Hall. 2012.
Awards
2009: CropLife America Lea Hitchner Award for her commitment to environmental and endangered species’risk assessment.
1991: Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Pre-doctoral Fellowship, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, Co.