William D. Wagner Award

2023 William D. Wagner Awardee

The William D. Wagner Award, established in 2003, is presented annually to a person in the field of national and international worker health and safety who is an outstanding example of commitment and dedication to the creation and dissemination of occupational exposure values (OEVs).

The 2023 William D. Wagner Award recipient is Glenn Talaska, PhD.

Glenn Talaska is Professor and Interim Chair Emeritus of Environmental and Public Health Sciences at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Talaska earned his MSPH from the University of Washington in 1982 (with M.S. Morgan and G. Kleinman), his Ph.D. in Genetic Toxicology in 1986 from the University of Texas Medical Branch (with M.S. Legator) and did Poctdoctoal training at the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR, with F.F. Kadlubar) before joining DEPHS in 1989 His research program on the development, validation and implementation of biomarkers of carcinogen exposure and effect led to his publication of over 140 scientific papers. Papers include those published in Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(USA), Cancer Research, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, Journal of the National Cancer Institute as well as JEOH and other IH journals. His lab was among the first to identify and characterize the specific agents bound to the human DNA from exposure to active and passive tobacco smoke, in dye workers, used engine oils, rubber manufacturing and other exposures. This work has led to a reduction of several of these workplace exposures. He was principle mentor to over 40 MS and Ph.D students, 12 visiting scientists and serves on the editorial board of 6 scientific journals including JEOH (until 2022)

Talaska has been a member ACGIH since 1982 and began his tenure of the BEI committee in 2000. In 2004 he was elected BEI committee Vice Chair a position he held until he retired from the committee in 2022. Talaska participated in development of many BEI documents and procedures. He was active in ACGIH committees, webinars, roundtables and short courses at AIHCE and other scientific venues. He served as President of the Board of Directors of JEOH in 2011-2012 and Secretary of the Scientific Committee on Occupational Toxicology of the International Commission on Occupational Health. He was an original member (2010) of the 9/11 First Responders Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee and was reappointed for second term in 2015. He stepped down in 2019, but was recently re-appointed.

Talaska recently retired as a CIH, but remains active in training workers in industrial hygiene and toxicology at the International Chemical Workers Union Training Center in Cincinnati; over 2000 industrial workers have attended his courses. He also remains active on the 9/11 STAC.

Previous Award Recipients

  • 2003 — Elizabeth K. Weisburger, ScD, PhD
  • 2004 — Daniel L. Johnson, PhD
  • 2005 — Vera F. Thomas, PhD
  • 2006 — Ernest Mastromatteo, CD, MD, DPH, DIH, FABPM (Occ Med), CCBOM, MFOM (London)
  • 2007 — Gerald V. Coles, CChem
  • 2008 — Masayuki Ikeda, PhD, MD
  • 2009 — B. Dwight Culver, MD
  • 2010 — D. Jack Lund
  • 2011 — Karl-Heinz Schaller
  • 2012 — Gerald L. Kennedy
  • 2013 — Thomas S. Tenforde, PhD
  • 2014 — Michael S. Morgan, ScD, CIH
  • 2015 — Robert Spirtas, DrPH
  • 2016 — Martin G. Cherniack, MPH, MD
  • 2017 — Larry K. Lowry, PhD
  • 2018 — David Michaels, PhD
  • 2019 — Thomas J. Armstrong, PhD, CIH
  • 2020 — John Cocker, PhD
  • 2021 — Terry Gordon, PhD, MS
  • 2022 — Thomas E. Bernard