Jean C. Pfau is an immunotoxicologist with a PhD in Microbiology and Biochemistry. Dr Pfau currently serves as a scientific consultant for the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) in Libby, Montana
The CARD is a small, non-profit clinic providing patient care, screening, education and research focused on asbestos exposure and resulting diseases. It was recently designated as a Montana Center of Excellence by the Montana State legislature due to its strong history excellence and expertise in asbestos-related diseases.
The CARD’s screening, education and outreach are currently funded by a grant from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Under that grant, Dr. Pfau helps to gather screening data on asbestos-exposed individuals and analyzes the screening data related to autoimmune diseases in LA exposed populations. She also assists with education and outreach activities and serves as the Chair of the Center’s Scientific Advisory Group.
Biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, and pulmonary toxicology
Recently retired from her research position at Montana State University, Dr. Pfau continues her research by collaborating with colleagues at other institutions. She is the Instructor of Physiology for the Washington/Idaho/Montana/Utah (WIMU) Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine on the MSU campus. She has 30 years of research and teaching experience in the fields of biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, and pulmonary toxicology. Her career productivity includes over 60 journal publications, 7 book chapters, and over 100 national and international presentations.
She had two post-doctoral fellowships: one at the International Heart Institute Laboratory of Tissue Engineering, studying fibrosis and dystrophic calcification, and one at the Center for Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Montana, Missoula, studying the immunotoxicity of silica.
She earned the rank of full Professor of Physiology at Idaho State University, managing her research laboratory, training research students, and teaching courses in toxicology, cell biology, anatomy & physiology, and immunology. She has served as the Director of flow cytometry core facilities at two universities and as Co-Director of the Idaho Science & Engineering Festival for five years.
Medical geology, immunotoxicology and asbestos
Dr. Pfau helped coordinate and teach a week-long short-course in medical geology at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and taught immunotoxicology and asbestos toxicology. She has been honored to receive several awards for research, service and teaching, including most recently the 2022-2023 Excellence in Teaching Award from the WIMU Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, MSU campus.
From 2009-2015, Dr. Pfau served as an immunotoxicology expert on the Libby Epidemiology Research Program (funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the ATSDR to study the immune/autoimmune outcomes of exposure to Libby Amphibole (LA) asbestiform fibers.
She helped develop the protocol now used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to standardize research exposures to fibrous minerals through water elutriation, and her laboratory developed a nationally-recognized mouse model of exposures to study immunological outcomes of exposure to mineral dusts, including asbestos.
Discoveries from that research include evidence of a high frequency of antinuclear autoantibodies and of systemic autoimmune diseases among LA-exposed people, and discovery of autoantibodies to mesothelial cells that are associated with development of pleural fibrosis in both mice and humans.
Exploring the mechanisms behind the exposure to asbestos
Dr. Pfau has worked very closely with the CARD for over 20 years, and continues to collaborate on national and international research projects that explore the mechanisms behind various outcomes of exposure to different types of asbestos and other asbestiform minerals.
Dr. Pfau’s overall current work focuses on two areas:
- Outreach and education regarding international recognition of amphibole asbestos as a causative agent of systemic autoimmune disease.
- Developing our understanding of mesothelial cell autoantibodies (MCAA), produced in mice and humans after exposure to Libby Amphibole Asbestos, which drive a progressive and deadly pleural disease.
