Joel R. Coats

Joel Coats' major research areas are insecticide toxicology and environmental toxicology. His specific interests in insecticide toxicology include mechanisms of toxic action, selectivity, metabolism, and structure-activity relationships. He conducts studies on the spectrum of activity and mode of action of several classes of natural products as insecticides. Their potential utility in insect control is evaluated, derivatives and analogs are synthesized and bioassayed, and structure-activity relationships are developed.

Environmental toxicology and chemistry research involves environmental effects, as well as degradation and movement, using radiotracers and residue analysis. Investigations of the degradation of toxic chemicals in soil deal with the mechanisms and rates of transformation as well as their mobility. Environmental fate projects focus on microbial degradation of pesticides in soil and the significance of the transformation products, as well as bioremediation and aquatic toxicology. Current research also includes the environmental fate and effects of the Bt protein toxin and a veterinary antibiotic.

Dr. Coats teaches Insecticide Toxicology and portions of Pesticides in the Environment, Principles of Toxicology, Toxicology Methods, and Natural Toxins. He is also active in the Interdepartmental Toxicology Program and has served as its chair for four years.

Email: jcoats@iastate.edu

Selected publications:

Belden, J.B., B.W. Clark, T.A. Phillips, K.L. Henderson, E.L. Arthur, and J.R. Coats. 2004. Detoxification of pesticide residues in soil using phytoremediation. Chapter 12 in Pesticide Decontamination and Detoxification, J.J. Gan, P.C. Zhu, S.D. Aust, and A.T. Lemley, eds. pp. 155-167. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.

Belden, J.B., J.R. Coats. 2004. Effect of grasses on herbicide fate in the soil column: Infiltration of runoff, movement, and degradation. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 23:2251-2258.

Park, D.S., C. Peterson, S. Zhao, and J.R. Coats. 2004. Fumigation toxicity of volatile natural and synthetic cyanohydrins to stored-product pests and activity as soil fumigants. Pest Manag. Sci. 60:833-838

Coats, J.R. and H. Yamamoto, Editors. 2003. Environmental Fate and Effects of Pesticides. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 300 pp.

Grodnitzky, J.A., and J.R. Coats. 2002. QSAR evaluation of monoterpenoids' insecticidal activity. J. Agric. Food Chem. 50 (16):4576-4580.

Peterson, C.J., L.T. Nemetz, L.M. Jones, and J.R. Coats. 2002. Behavioral activity of catnip (Lamiaceae) essential oil components to the German cockroach (Blattodea: Blattellidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 95:377-380.

Solomon, K.R., J.P. Giesy, R.J. Kendall, L.B. Best, J.R. Coats, K.R. Dixon, M.J. Hooper, E.E. Kenaga, and S.T. McMurray. 2001. Chlorpyrifos: Ecotoxicological risk assessment for birds and mammals in corn agroecosystems. J. Human Ecol. Risk Assess. 7:497-632.

Arthur, E.L., and J.R. Coats. 1998. Phytoremediation, Chapter 11 in Pesticide Remediation in Soils and Water. P. Kearney and T. Roberts, eds., pp. 251-283. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, U.K.