Organized primarily around the mechanisms of action of the toxins at the biochemical, physiological and pathological level, rather than by source, the handbook covers most toxins which have been clearly identified and characterized, but emphasizes toxins that are more important by virtue of the sign
Biography
W. Thomas Shier is a Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, and Director of Graduate Studies in Pharmacognosy, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The author or coauthor of over 30 book chapters and over 50 journal articles and editor of the Journal of Toxicology—Toxin Reviews (Marcel Dekker, Inc.), he is a member of the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Scientists, American Chemical Society, American Society for Cell Biology, American Pharmaceutical Association (Associate), American Society of Biological Chemists, International Society on Toxinology, Society of Toxicology, among other scientific organizations. Dr. Shier received the B.Sc. degree (1966) from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, M.S. (1968) and Ph.D. (1970) degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and has completed postdoctoral studies (1970-72) at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Dietrich Mebs is a Professor in the Department of Legal Medicine at the University of Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany. The author or coauthor of more than 100 articles, reviews, and book chapters, his research interests focus on animal and plant toxins, their chemistry, mode of action, and ecological implications. Dr. Mebs is Secretary-Treasurer of the international Society on Toxinology and an editorial board member of the journal Toxicon. Dr. Mebs received the Ph.D. degree (1968) from the University of Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany.
