Tracie Baker
Office Phone
352-273-9560
Biography
Tracie R. Baker (DVM, PhD) has substantial academic training and research in developmental biology, environmental toxicology, genetics, and animal health. Her academic training has been multidisciplinary in nature with an interest in toxicology beginning as an undergraduate where she investigated water pollution effects and behavioral ecology. She earned her Master of Science at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks in marine biology. After earning her DVM (University of Wisconsin – Madison) and a certificate in fish health medicine from the State of Wisconsin, she was an assistant researcher investigating clinical improvements in fish medicine before accepting an NIEHS-funded postdoctoral position that evolved into a PhD program at UW – Madison where her research was the first to show transgenerational inheritance of disease using a zebrafish model.
In 2013, she competed successfully for an NIH K01 award through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). Dr. Baker found that low level, dioxin-induced decreased fertility across multiple generations following early developmental exposure is mediated through the male germline. In 2016, She started her laboratory at Wayne State University (WSU) as an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Department of Pharmacology – School of Medicine, where she still conducts contaminant research in water and fish in the Great Lake region. In 2021, Dr. Baker joined the faculty at the University of Florida and continues to focus on One Health research evaluating developmentally-based and transgenerational, environmentally-induced disease of endocrine disrupting chemicals and contaminants of emerging concern.
In her spare time, Dr. Baker enjoys spending time with her wife, kids, and their dogs, participating in open water swim events and triathlons, traveling, and being outside.
Education
B.S. (Honors), Biology and Chemistry, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH 1997
M.S., Marine Biology, Universtiy of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 2001
D.V.M, Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 2008
Ph.D., Molecular and Environmental Toxicology, Univsersity of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 2013
Areas of Research
The WATER (Warrior Aquatic, Translational, and Environmental Research) Lab is focused on multidisciplinary, translational research that seeks to bridge and improve human, animal, and environmental health. Our research goal is to provide critical insights into developmentally-based and transgenerational, environmentally-induced disease with primary emphasis on endocrine disrupting compounds, aquatic toxicants, and contaminants of emerging concern, while also developing novel methods and approaches in zebrafish husbandry, genomics, and behavior, as well as promoting standardization of the zebrafish model and continued improvements in care, welfare, and conservation of aquatic species and environments.
Links of Interest
Visit our WATER Lab website at: www.bakerwaterlab.com
Publications
- Meyer DN, Baker BB, and Baker TR. 2018. Ancestral TCDD exposure induces multigenerational histologic and transcriptomic alterations in gonads of male zebrafish. Toxicological Sciences. 164(2):603-612.
- Gawdzik JC, Yue M, Martin NR, Elemans LM, Lanham K, Heideman W, Rezendes R, Baker TR, Taylor MR and Plavicki JS. 2018. sox9b is required in cardiomyocytes for cardiac morphogenesis and function. Scientific Reports, 8:13906
- Plavicki J, Baker TR, Burns F, Xiong K, Gooding A, Hofsteen P, Peterson RE and Heideman W. 2015. Construction and characterization of a sox9b transgenic reporter line. International Journal of Developmental Biology. 58: 693-99.
- Baker BB, Yee JS, Meyer DN, Yang D and Baker TR. 2016. Histological and Transcriptomic Changes in Male Zebrafish Testes Due to Early Life Exposure to Low Level 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin. Zebrafish. 13(5):413-23.
- Baker TR, Peterson RE and Heideman W. 2014. Using zebrafish as a model system for studying the transgenerational effects of dioxin. Toxicological Sciences. 138 (1):403-11.
- Baker TR, King-Heiden TC, Peterson RE and Heideman W. 2014. Dioxin Induction of Transgenerational Inheritance of Disease in Zebrafish. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. 398(1-2):36-41.
- Baker TR, Peterson RE and Heideman W. 2013. Early dioxin exposure causes toxic effects in adult zebrafish. Toxicological Sciences. 135(1):241-50.
- Baker TR, Baker BB, Johnson SM, and Sladky KK. 2013. Comparative analgesic efficacy of morphine and butorphanol in koi (Cyprinus carpio) undergoing gonadectomy. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 243(6):882-90.
- Baker TR, Doucette GJ, Powell CL, Boyer GL, and Plumley FG. 2003. GTX(4) imposters: characterization of fluorescent compounds synthesized by Pseudomonas stutzeri SF/PS and Pseudomonas/Alteromonas PTB-1, symbionts of saxitoxin-producing Alexandrium spp. Toxicon. 41(3):339-47.