Houston CPCU August 2023 Chapter Meeting

Houston CPCU Chapter Meeting

August 15, 2023
11:30 – 1:00 PM

Braeburn Country Club
8101 Bissonnet St. 
Houston, TX 77074

Speaker: Christopher Spaeth, PH.D.
Senior Consultant, Rimkus

Topic: “Forensic Toxicology"

Please register to attend!

Speaker BIO:
Dr. Christopher Spaeth holds a B.S in Comprehensive Science with a minor in Russian language and a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology with a focus on Neuroscience, Pharmacology, and Toxicology. During his post-doctoral fellowship, Dr. Spaeth performed ground-breaking research while teaching as an adjunct professor of Neuroscience and as a market analyst of early-stage pharmaceutical companies. He has over 17 years of experience in toxicology, neuroscience, genetics, and molecular biology and multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals.

He has extensive laboratory research experience and broad-based training in toxicology, neuroscience, genetics, molecular and cellular biology, oil-based interactions with biological systems, such as those mediating dermal penetration of substances, and conserved pathways of cell traffic and cell barrier function. He has taught at the university level and has been awarded multiple grants from the US National Institute of Health and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Dr. Spaeth specializes in the areas of neuro-toxicology cases, specifically involving the psychomotor impairments of both prescription and recreational drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, THC, opiates, methamphetamines, anti-depressants, and anti-anxiety drugs. He describes the molecular mechanism of drug action that correlates to possible impairments when performing complex activities, especially driving. He has extensive experience in cases involving the interaction of multiple drugs, as well as “DRAM” shop cases. His responsibilities include writing scientific opinions, verifying toxicological, medical, and biologically relevant facts of each case, determining the validity of claims based on scientific literature, assessing alternative causation, testifying in depositions, and communicating conclusions to upstream stakeholders.