Thomas (Tom) Barbolt received his B.S. in Biology from LeMoyne College and his Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology and Toxicology from Albany Medical College, and has been certified in Toxicology by the American Board of Toxicology. He worked at Sterling Research Group as a Toxicologic Pathologist providing pathology evaluations for IND submissions of new chemical entities. He also worked at White Sands Research Center, a contract research organization, where he was the Director of Comparative Pathology. Tom joined ETHICON as a Principal Scientist providing Toxicology and Pathology expertise in preclinical safety evaluation to support 510(k) and PMA submissions for new medical devices. Tom was instrumental in demonstrating the safety of PRONOVA suture and VICRYL Plus Antibacterial Suture. He was involved in the due diligence assessments of an anti-adhesion gel, a vascular Sealant, and a peri-urethral bulking agent. Tom has 75 abstracts/publications in peer-reviewed journals. He was a member of the International Standards Working Groups for ISO 10993 developing Guidelines for the Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices. Additional activities have included the development of other antibacterial sutures, wound closure devices, surgical mesh, and internal adhesives and sealants. After retirement from ETHICON as a Distinguished Research Fellow, he continues to provide consulting support for a variety of medical device companies.Specialties: Development of Biocompatibility Strategies and Risk Assessments for medical devices. Evaluation of tissue reaction to implanted devices.