Mirosław Jan Stasik
Encyclopedia
Mirosław Jan Stasik - Polish medical doctor
and toxicologist
.
, United Kingdom
. He obtained his Dr Med. at the Heidelberg University, Germany's oldest university.
In the 1960s
he completed his training in internal medicine
, and became director of the newly-created clinical department of acute poisoning at the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódz. There he also pioneered in the field of poison control centers in Poland.
During this period he published one of the first clinical works devoted to acute toxicity
of tetraethyllead in humans. This substance was commonly used as an antiknock agent
in gasoline
until 2005.
, with two breaks for training at the Institute of Toxicology of the University of Würzburg
and for university study in the UK.
In Frankfurt
he directed a centre of toxicology and epidemiology within the department of occupational medicine of a chemical concern Hoechst AG
.
His research was focused on defining the carcinogen
ic potential of some aromatic amine
s, e.g. 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine
and derivatives of aniline
, as well as ethylene oxide
and formaldehyde
.
In the 1980s
Stasik represented Hoechst at scientific conferences of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology (USA
), as well as symposiums of the Center for Environmental Epidemiolog, University of Pittsburgh
. These were organized in co-operation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency
.
He was also a member of the Ecology and Toxicology Centre and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) in Brussels
.
In recent years he co-operated with the Institute of Social, Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Guttenberg University, as well as with the Department of Histology and Embryology of the Medical University of Łódź in order to continue and to publish his works on carcinogenic aromatic amines.
, pigment
s, and chlordimeform a pesticide, causes cancer
of the urinary bladder
in humans. As a direct consequence of this discovery a worldwide ban was imposed on production and use of this arylamine
Professor Klaus Norpoth in his handbook of occupational medicine mentions Mirosław Stasik for the discovery of the cancer risk of 4-COT as one of 15 international researchers, who over two centuries discovered occupational carcinogenic substances, starting from Percivall Pott
(1775), through Ludwig Rehn
(1895), John Creech and Maurice Johnson
(1974) to Stasik (1987).
Stasik is an author and co-author of several dozen publications in international journals, articles in International Labour Office Encyklopedia of Occupational Health and Safety (four editions) and in Ullmann's Enzyklopaedie.
Since 1997 he has been leading a branch of Societas Jablonoviana in Wiesbaden
. This scientific society was founded in Leipzig
in 1774 by a Polish aristocrat Józef A. Jabłonowski.
and United States of America.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and toxicologist
Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...
.
Education and early career
Stasik graduated from Łódź School of Medicine (now Medical University of Łódź) and later studied toxicology at the University of SurreyUniversity of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He obtained his Dr Med. at the Heidelberg University, Germany's oldest university.
In the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
he completed his training in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
, and became director of the newly-created clinical department of acute poisoning at the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódz. There he also pioneered in the field of poison control centers in Poland.
During this period he published one of the first clinical works devoted to acute toxicity
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...
of tetraethyllead in humans. This substance was commonly used as an antiknock agent
Antiknock agent
An antiknock agent is a gasoline additive used to reduce engine knocking and increase the fuel's octane rating.The mixture known as gasoline, when used in high compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to ignite early causing a damaging "engine knocking" noise...
in gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
until 2005.
Further career
Since 1970 he has been living in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, with two breaks for training at the Institute of Toxicology of the University of Würzburg
University of Würzburg
The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...
and for university study in the UK.
In Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
he directed a centre of toxicology and epidemiology within the department of occupational medicine of a chemical concern Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG
Hoechst AG was a German chemicals then life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc S.A. in 1999...
.
His research was focused on defining the carcinogen
Carcinogen
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes...
ic potential of some aromatic amine
Aromatic amine
An aromatic amine is an amine with an aromatic substituent - that is -NH2, -NH- or nitrogen group attached to an aromatic hydrocarbon, whose structure usually contains one or more benzene rings. Aniline is the simplest example....
s, e.g. 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine
3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine
3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine is used in the production of azo dyes and is considered a carcinogen. It contains two benzene rings. This compound has been shown to increase the incidence of tumors in animals. Because it is structurally similar to benzidine, a known carcinogen, it is believed that it may...
and derivatives of aniline
Aniline
Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the prototypical aromatic amine. Being a precursor to many industrial chemicals, its main use is in the manufacture of precursors to polyurethane...
, as well as ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide, also called oxirane, is the organic compound with the formula . It is a cyclic ether. This means that it is composed of two alkyl groups attached to an oxygen atom in a cyclic shape . This colorless flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor is the simplest epoxide, a three-membered...
and formaldehyde
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...
.
In the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
Stasik represented Hoechst at scientific conferences of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology (USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), as well as symposiums of the Center for Environmental Epidemiolog, University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. These were organized in co-operation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
.
He was also a member of the Ecology and Toxicology Centre and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
In recent years he co-operated with the Institute of Social, Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Guttenberg University, as well as with the Department of Histology and Embryology of the Medical University of Łódź in order to continue and to publish his works on carcinogenic aromatic amines.
Main achievements
In Frankfurt, while investigating simple arylamines, Stasik discovered that 4-chloro-o-toluidine (4-COT), used as an intermediate for the manufacture of dyestuffsDye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
, pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
s, and chlordimeform a pesticide, causes cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
of the urinary bladder
Urinary bladder
The urinary bladder is the organ that collects urine excreted by the kidneys before disposal by urination. A hollow muscular, and distensible organ, the bladder sits on the pelvic floor...
in humans. As a direct consequence of this discovery a worldwide ban was imposed on production and use of this arylamine
Professor Klaus Norpoth in his handbook of occupational medicine mentions Mirosław Stasik for the discovery of the cancer risk of 4-COT as one of 15 international researchers, who over two centuries discovered occupational carcinogenic substances, starting from Percivall Pott
Percivall Pott
Sir Percivall Pott London, England) was an English surgeon, one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen.-Life:...
(1775), through Ludwig Rehn
Ludwig Rehn
Ludwig Wilhelm Carl Rehn was a German surgeon. Rehn was born in 1849, in the village of Allendorf, the youngest of five children...
(1895), John Creech and Maurice Johnson
Maurice Johnson
Maurice Johnson , of Spalding, was the founder of the 'The Gentlemen's Society' .In 1717 he assisted in the re-establishment of the Society of Antiquitaries . He invited William Stukeley to join the society...
(1974) to Stasik (1987).
Stasik is an author and co-author of several dozen publications in international journals, articles in International Labour Office Encyklopedia of Occupational Health and Safety (four editions) and in Ullmann's Enzyklopaedie.
Since 1997 he has been leading a branch of Societas Jablonoviana in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
. This scientific society was founded in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1774 by a Polish aristocrat Józef A. Jabłonowski.
4-COT Foundation
In 2001, together with his wife Dr Liliana Stasik, he set up the 4-COT Foundation, which sponsors studies of young Polish researchers in Western EuropeWestern Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and United States of America.