John Stein, Ph.D.

Dr. John Stein

John Stein is the current Acting Science Director of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), NOAA Fisheries Service in Seattle, Washington. The NWFSC conducts basic and applied research to support the management and conservation of the Pacific Northwest region’s anadromous and marine fishery resources and their habitats. Dr. Stein oversees the Science Center’s headquarters in Seattle and five research stations in Washington and Oregon. Dr. Stein’s leadership and management have resulted in increased communication and partnerships with constituents, as well as new research programs that address current and future science and management needs. For his achievements, he has been awarded with a Department of Commerce Bronze Medal and a NOAA Administrator’s Award.

Dr. Stein also serves as co-Director for NOAA’s West Coast Center for Oceans and Human and Health collaborative research program involving NOAA, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Prior to becoming the Deputy Director, Dr. Stein was the Center’s Pacific Salmon Science Coordinator and Director of the Environmental Conservation Division. In addition, Dr. Stein serves as the Chair of the Science Board of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), a multinational organization. In 2005, he was appointed Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

During Dr. Stein’s scientific career, his primary research focus included impacts of anthropogenic and natural toxic compounds (e.g., chemical contaminants and marine biotoxins) on fishery resources and protected marine species, how human activities affect watershed processes that support anadromous fish, the development and application of biological markers of chemical contaminant effects in fishes and marine mammals, and the application of these techniques in delineating relationships between chemical contaminant exposure and effects in fishes and marine mammals. He has authored over 130 publications and serves on many expert committees and scientific boards. Recently, Dr. Stein has become more involved in the emerging area of the effects of the state of the ocean on the health of humans, both health benefits and disease risk, and the biological effects of ocean acidification. He currently is one of the co-leads for a NOAA effort developing a national ocean acidification research plan and is a lead for initiating a NOAA Fisheries ocean acidification research program.

Dr. Stein received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Central Washington University and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Washington.

last modified 02/14/2011
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