Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Arizona State University, 1975
  • B.A., Chemistry/Biochemistry, University of Northern Colorado, 1974
Professional Honors
  • Received the inaugural lifetime achievement award in Comprehensive Two Dimensional Gas Chromatography (GCxGC) at the 35th International Symposium on Capillary Chromatography, San Diego, CA, May 2011
  • U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Award for Distinguished Service for the World Trade Center and Anthrax Investigation Emergency Response Team, Presented June 12, 2002
  • Recipient of the 2001 Harvey W. Wiley Award for "Significant Contributions to Analytical Science Through your Work in Developing State-of-the-Art Methods for Determining Ultra-race Concentrations of Toxic Environmental Contaminants," 2001
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service to the National Center for Environmental Health/ Environmental Health Laboratory Team: "For Outstanding Service in Developing and Applying State-of- the-Art Biomonitoring to an Environmental Emergency Affecting More than 15,000 People Where Methyl Parathion Was Illicitly Sprayed," 1999
  • CDC's National Center for Environmental Health Directors Award for Scientific Leadership "For Outstanding Accomplishments in Cultivation of a Cohesive, Highly Diverse Work Group for Achieving Scientific Excellence in Innovation, Method Development, and Analysis of Environmental Toxicants," 1999
  • U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Distinguished Services Team Award for "Outstanding Scientific and Technical Response to a Life Threatening Public Health Emergency in Haiti," presented May 1998
  • Appointed to the Senior Biomedical Research Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "For Outstanding Scientific Contributions in Public Health," presented February 2, 1998.
  • Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy (honoris causa) in Environmental Chemistry, presented by the Faculty of Chemistry September 26, 1997, at Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. This is the first honorary doctorate in environmental chemistry in Sweden.
  • CDC and ATSDR Honor Award Research—Epidemiology and Laboratory "For Outstanding Scientific and Technical Response to an Epidemic of Acute Renal Failure from Diethylene Glycol Poisoning in Haiti," presented June 4, 1997
  • CDC and ATSDR Group Honor Award Statistical Research and Services "For Outstanding Service in Developing and Applying State-Of-The-Art Laboratory Methodology to Define the Health Status of the U.S. Population during NHANES III," presented June 4, 1997
  • Recipient of the Division of Environmental Health Laboratory Sciences Award for the Research Paper of the Year (Co-author 1992). "A Method for Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds in Human Blood from a Large Sample Population Using Purge and Trap Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry."
  • Recipient of the Division of Environmental Health Laboratory Sciences Award for the Research Paper of the Year (Co-author 1989). "Estimates of the Half-Life of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in Ranch Hand Veterans."
  • Recipient of the U.S. Public Health Services Superior Service Award for "Outstanding Scientific Research, Which Substantially Contributed to a National Public Health Policy for Dioxin Exposure" (1988).
  • U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Special Recognition Award to CDC/NCEH Dioxin Serum/Adipose Study Group (1987). "In Recognition of a Significant Public Health Accomplishment and an Extraordinary Group Effort in the Development of a Viable Method for Measuring 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in Human Serum as an Alternative to Human Adipose."
Professional Affiliations
  • The International Society for Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, ISPAC (Member of Advisory Board)
  • The International Society of Exposure Science, 2010-present
  • Royal Society of Chemistry, 2010-present

Dr. Patterson's technical expertise includes analytical chemistry, data quality, human biomonitoring, and chemical exposure assessment. He is world renowned for his research in the detection and quantification of persistent and non-persistent organic pollutants and their assessment in the human body. 

Dr. Patterson was a member of the Senior Biomedical Research Service in the Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch, National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Patterson specializes in human exposure assessment and internal dose measurements of environmental pollutants using state-of-the-art analytical techniques. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Patterson led a group of research scientists for 29 years at CDC, developing state-of-the-art analytical methods for measuring environmental chemicals and their metabolites in human tissues. These methods were then applied in large-scale epidemiologic studies such as the U.S. Air Force operation Ranch Hand Vietnam Veteran Agent Orange Study; Seveso, Italy, dioxin exposure study; NIOSH worker dioxin exposure study; and the biannual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) studies that were designed to establish U.S. population reference ranges for many environmental chemicals.

Dr. Patterson serves as an expert witness in cases involving potential human exposure to environmental chemicals. He has expertise in environmental and biological forensics; environmental chemistry; and human body burdens of dioxins and furans, PCBs, pesticides, brominated flame-retarding chemicals, and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as well as PAHs and new and emerging environmental contaminants.

Dr. Patterson is the author or co-author of 399 papers and 18 book chapters in the area of human exposure to environmental chemicals. He has done numerous scientific presentations and keynote and plenary lectures, and he serves on numerous scientific boards. In addition to his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Dr. Patterson was awarded an honorary Ph.D. ("honoris causa") for his body of work in the field of environmental chemistry by Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Forensics at Penn State University.