Professor James E. Trosko is an American researcher and university professor whose academic career spans more than sixty years, marked by significant contributions in the fields of biology, toxicology, oncology, and bioethics.
After completing his studies at Central Michigan University and Michigan State University (MSU)—where he was a National Defense Education Act Predoctoral Fellow—he conducted postdoctoral research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and for the American Cancer Society.
He joined Michigan State University in 1966 as Assistant Professor and advanced through the ranks to become Full Professor in 1976 in the College of Human Medicine.
Throughout his career, he received numerous research grants and honors, including the Teacher Scholar Award (1970), the NIH Career Development Award (1971–1977), the Sigma Xi Senior Research Award (1985), the Distinguished Faculty Award (1987), the Kenneth B. DuBois Award (1995), and the Scientific Achievement Award from the Society of Toxicology (2000).
He directed and coordinated major research projects funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the NIEHS Superfund Program.
He also served as Chief of Research at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, Japan (1990–1992), and acted as a scientific consultant for international institutions such as the Princess Chulabhorn Research Institute in Bangkok and the University of Nagasaki.
His scientific work has focused on cellular mechanisms of carcinogenesis, DNA repair, and the biological effects of low-level radiation exposure.
He organized numerous international symposia on toxicology, stem cell research, and environmental health, and has collaborated with research centers across Europe and Asia.
Over the course of his career, he received recognition and awards from universities and scientific institutions in Japan, Korea, and the United States, including the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Award (2001) and the William B. Weil, Jr. Award (2020) from the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University.
