Deputy Director for Research, NCTR

Tucker A. Patterson, Ph.D.
(870) 543-7121
[email protected] 

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Background

Tucker A. Patterson, Ph.D. is Deputy Director for Research in the Office of the Center Director/Office of Research at the FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). Prior to this appointment, he served two years as the Associate Director for Science & Policy and over seven years as the Associate Director and Health Science Program Manager in Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management at NCTR. Dr. Patterson received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of South Carolina. He completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship with the Center for the Neurobiology of Aging at the University of Florida and continued his postdoctoral training at NCTR through a postgraduate research appointment with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and as a staff fellow. Dr. Patterson worked for three years as a toxicologist for the State of Arkansas at the Livestock and Poultry Commission prior to returning to NCTR in 2001 where he worked in the Division of Neurotoxicology as a senior scientist.  

Dr. Patterson serves as a primary advisor to the NCTR Center Director for internal and external matters affecting general directions of the NCTR research program. Dr. Patterson’s major responsibilities include directing the NCTR Office of Research, which oversees six research divisions, and serving as NCTR's primary representative on several internal FDA committees and working groups (e.g., Senior Science Council, Research Traineeship Program Working Group, Shared Resources Subcommittee, Research Impact Working Group, One Health Steering Committee, Authorship Dispute Resolution Working Group, etc.). Additional responsibilities include primary representation of NCTR and FDA in extramural activities including research interactions with the State of Arkansas and the NIEHS/National Toxicology Program. 

Research Interests

Dr. Patterson has been involved in neuroscience and neurotoxicology research for more than thirty years and has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters in the areas of pharmacology, toxicology, behavior, and genomics.  His professional scientific activities include the Society of Toxicology (SOT), Society for Sigma Xi, and the International Conference on Neuroprotective Agents. Dr. Patterson serves as a reviewer for many scientific journals in the areas of pharmacology, toxicology, and neuroscience, and has edited numerous books, chapters, and special journal editions.  

Select Publications

"Elucidation of Agonist and Antagonist Binding Mechanisms of ER-α by Integration of Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Quantum Mechanical Calculations."
Sakkiah S., Selvaraj C., Guo W., Liu J., Ge W., Patterson T.A. and Hong, H.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 9371.

"The NMDA Receptor System and Developmental Neurotoxicity." 
Wang C., Liu S., Liu F., Patterson T.A., and Slikker W. 
In: Kostrzewa, R.M. (Ed.) Handbook of Neurotoxicity. Springer, Cham. (2021).

"Informing Selection of Drugs for COVID-19 Treatment Through Adverse Events Analysis."
Guo W., Pan B., Sakkiah S., Ji Z., Yavas G., Lu Y., Komatsu T., Lal-Nag M., Tong W., Patterson T.A., and Hong H.
Sci. Rep. 2021, 11:14022.

"Nanomaterial Databases: Data Sources for Promoting Design and Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials."
Ji Z., Guo W., Sakkiah S., Liu J., Patterson T.A. and Hong, H.
Nanomaterials. 2021, 11(6), 1599.

"Identification of Epidemiological Traits by Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Sequences."
Pan B., Ji Z., Sakkiah S., Guo W., Liu J., Patterson T.A. and Hong H.
Viruses. 2021, 13, 764.

“Neuroprotective Effects of Carnitine and its Potential Application to Ameliorate Neurotoxicity.” 
Latham L.E., Wang C., Patterson T.A., Slikker Jr. W., and Liu F.
Chem. Res. Toxicol. 2021, 34, 1208-1222.

“Elucidating Interactions Between SARS-CoV-2 Trimeric Spike Protein and ACE2 Using Homology Modeling and Molecular Dynamics Simulations.” 
Sakkiah S., Guo W., Pan B., Ji Z., Yavas G., Azevedo M., Hawes J., and Patterson T.A. and Hong H.
Front. Chem. 2021, 8:622632. 

“Application of MicroRNA Profiling to Understand Sevoflurane-Induced Adverse Effects on Developing Monkey Brain.” 
Liu F., Gong B., Gu Q., Liu S., Fogle C.M., Patterson T.A., Hanig J.P., Slikker Jr. W., and Wang C.
NeuroToxicology. 2020, 81:172-179. 

“Effects of Xenon-Based Anesthetic Exposure on the Expression Levels of Polysialic Acid Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (PSA-NCAM) on Human Neural Stem Cell-Derived Neurons.” 
Liu F., Liu S., Patterson T.A., Fogle C., Hanig J.P., Slikker Jr. W., and Wang C. 
Mol. Neurobiol. 2020, 57:217-225. 

“Protective Effects of Xenon on Propofol-Induced Neurotoxicity in Human Neural Stem Cell-Derived Models.” 
Liu F., Liu S., Patterson T.A., Fogle C., Hanig J.P., Wang C., and Slikker Jr. W. 
Mol. Neurobiol. 2020, 57:200-207.