Connor Receives ASHP Board of Directors Award of Honor
Research Biologist is Longtime Contributor to Studies on Workplace Hazardous Drugs
12/8/2008
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) honored Thomas H. Connor, Ph.D., for his more than 30 years of research on occupational safety and health issues. He received the ASHP Board of Directors Award of Honor today during the opening session of ASHP’s 43rd Midyear Clinical Meeting in
Orlando
,
Fla.
Connor, a research biologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Division of Applied Research and Technology, is known for his work to protect healthcare workers from toxic substances. He researched the potential effects of hazardous drugs on healthcare workers and evaluated personal protective clothing use in healthcare workplaces. He was co-chair of a committee that developed the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners international standard for the safe handling of cytotoxic drugs and a NIOSH Title 42 Fellow.
Connor was lead author of the first
U.S.
article warning practitioners of the risk posed by surface contamination of chemotherapy drug vials, published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy on
March 1, 2005
. He was a primary contributor to the NIOSH Alert on Hazardous Drugs, published in 2004. Connor also was also a key contributor to recent research demonstrating that engineering controls and personal protective equipment alone may not protect healthcare workers from exposure to hazardous drugs.
“Dr. Connor’s valuable research over the years will leave a lasting mark on the safety and health of pharmacists and others who work in healthcare settings,” said ASHP President Kevin J. Colgan, M.A., FASHP. “We are pleased to recognize his important work on hazardous drugs in the workplace with the Board of Directors Award of Honor.”
Connor received a B.S. and M.S. in microbiology from the
University
of
Rhode Island
in
Providence
. He obtained a doctoral degree in environmental toxicology from the
University
of
Texas Medical Branch
in
Galveston
,
Texas
.
Connor was an associate professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health in
Houston
for more than 20 years, teaching courses in toxicology, genetic toxicology, and environmental health.
Established in 1966, the Award of Honor recognizes individuals outside the pharmacy discipline who have made extraordinary national or worldwide contributions to the health field.
About ASHP
For more than 60 years,ASHP has helped pharmacists who practice in hospitals and health systems improve medication use and enhance patient safety. The Society's 35,000 members include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient, home-care, and long-term-care settings, as well as pharmacy students. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists help people make the best use of medicines, visit ASHP's Web site, www.ashp.org, or its consumer Web site, www.safemedication.com.
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