Bio of Paddy Wiesenfeld

Paddy received her undergraduate degree in chemistry (ACS certified) from Texas Women’s University and her graduate degrees in biochemistry from George Washington University. Throughout her career, Dr. Wiesenfeld has worked in basic and applied research and public health policy. At the National Institutes of Health, National Heart and Lung Institute, she worked on lipid metabolism and mechanisms of communication between cells. At the Consumer Product Safety Commission, she worked on inhalation and dermal toxicology of household products. Paddy did her post-doctoral work at the Human Nutrition Center, USDA, where her research focused on carbohydrate metabolism in obese and lean animals. As a staff fellow at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), she used her knowledge of biochemistry and lipid metabolism to write the first health claim on lipids and cardiovascular disease. Paddy is now a research scientist in FDA-CFSAN’s Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, where she works on establishing validated in vitro assays to assess hepatotoxicity. Paddy is an active member (program planning, nominating, membership committees, science fair judge, and grant reviewer) of Sigma Xi, American Chemical Society and Graduate Women in Science. She also finds time to volunteer as a US Park Service guide on the weekends. As Vice-President of GWIS, she is working to foster integration of programs that promote development and support of young women in the sciences.