Course Developers

William F. McDonnell, MD, PhD, is a United States Public Health Service officer detailed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1979. He received his MD from Washington University in St. Louis and his PhD in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina, and he is trained in General Preventive Medicine. Dr. McDonnell developed and implemented the EPA's ozone epidemiology research strategy and has studied the respiratory health effects of experimental ozone exposure in humans for over 20 years at EPA's Human Studies Facility in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His primary research interests have focused on the inter-individual variability in lung function response and on developing ozone exposure-response models. Dr. McDonnell has published widely in these areas and has received numerous scientific and honor awards from EPA.

James A. Raub, MS, was a Health Scientist and Project Manager in EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Dr. Raub's public health career involved the assessment of cardiopulmonary changes caused by the exposure of humans and laboratory animals to environmental pollutants found in the ambient air. Early in his career, Dr. Raub developed research methods for measuring cardiopulmonary function in laboratory animals exposed to pharmaceutical compounds and environmental pollutants. After that, his work focused on the health assessment of ozone and carbon monoxide, for which he received EPA's Gold and Bronze Medals for Exceptional Service to the Public. In addition to publishing journal articles and book chapters on the use of animal models for pollutant risk assessment, he organized and contributed to the most recent EPA Air Quality Criteria Documents on ozone and carbon monoxide that provide the scientific basis for ambient air quality standards in the United States. He also served as a temporary advisor to the World Health Organization on environmental health criteria for international air quality guidelines. Dr. Raub has a BS in zoology from Pennsylvania State University and an MS in physiology from the University of California, Davis, and did PhD graduate work in toxicology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Donald C. Spencer, MD, MBA, is board certified in family medicine and has been with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) since 1996, where he is presently Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Director of the UNC Family Practice Center. Dr. Spencer graduated in 1973 from Stanford University with a degree in biology, received his MD in 1977 from the UCLA School of Medicine, and completed his residency in family medicine in 1980 at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Spencer also received a Masters of Business Administration in 1993 from the University of Missouri- Columbia. Between 1980 and 1986 he worked in private practice in rural Anson County, North Carolina, and then between 1986 and 1996 he taught and practiced at the University of Missouri-Columbia Department of Family and Community Medicine, where he established office information systems in three rural practice sites and was responsible for informatics curriculum development in the family medicine residency.
Dr. Spencer's interests are in the areas of medical practice management and information sciences. His informatics activities include membership on the UNC Health Care Information Technology Advisory Board, chair of the UNC Health Care Medical Information Management Committee, and member of the UNC Health Care HIPAA Policy Committee. Dr. Spencer is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

Susan Lyon Stone, MS, has worked as an Environmental Health Scientist with EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) since 1994. She has reviewed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and sulfur dioxide, and she currently is working on the team reviewing the particulate matter standard. She led the team that revised the Air Quality Index in 1999, and she has coauthored many of EPA's public information documents about the Air Quality Index and the health effects of criteria pollutants, including a video about ozone health effects for health care professionals. Ms. Stone represents OAQPS on the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) committees. She has an MS from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Michele A. Dubow, MSPH, has worked as an Environmental Scientist with EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) since 1990. She has provided expert information, technical advice, and training on the development and implementation of EPA regulations, policies, and programs, primarily in the areas of air quality permitting, air toxics reductions, economic incentive programs, cross-program integration, and tribal air programs. Currently, she is developing EPA technical training and outreach materials for a variety of audiences, emphasizing capacity building for state, local, and tribal agencies, and disseminating practical information and tools for educating the public about air quality and health effects. She has a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) degree from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.