About

Thomas J. McDonald, PhD, is a Regents Professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health at the School of Public Health, Texas A&M University. He holds a PhD in Oceanography from Texas A&M University, earned in 1988, along with a Master’s degree in Oceanography (1982) and a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science (1980) from the same institution. His research interests include environmental chemistry, petroleum geochemistry, and general organic chemistry. Dr. McDonald is actively involved in research related to environmental and occupational health, with a focus on chemical processes and pollutants in marine and environmental contexts.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Microbiology
• Biochemistry
• Biology
• Organic chemistry
• Computer Science
• Environmental chemistry
• Computer Security
• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Environmental engineering
• Chemical engineering
• Gastroenterology
• Toxicology
• Ecology
• Inorganic chemistry

Selected publications

• Spatial Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil and Potential Human Health Risks within a Confirmed Cancer Cluster in the Greater Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas

  Exposure and Health · 2026-02-19

  articleOpen access

  The study assessed the occurrence, spatial distribution, and potential human health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) within the Greater Fifth Ward, a residential area located in Northeast Houston. From July to November 2021, a complete canvas was done within the defined geographic boundary to collect surface soil samples from participants’ private yards. Using standard extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods, the levels of x PAHs in each sample were quantified and used to calculate pyrogenic indices and evaluate PAH source apportionment. This information was used to calculate cancer risks based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Regional Screening Levels (RSLs) for residential soils. Of the 103 soil samples, at least 1 of the 16 EPA priority pollutant PAHs were detected in each sample. The total concentration of the 7 carcinogenic PAHs ranged from 9.9 to 40,290 ng/g (mean = 402 ng/g, standard deviation = 28,490). The RSLs showed that 7 of the 103 soil samples exceeded the U.S. EPA’s most conservative screening levels of 1.0 × 10− 6 and had values within the target range for remedial actions, however, only one of those sites was considered actionable. Findings from this study highlight the need for site-specific risk assessments in environmental justice communities with known legacy contaminants. The current PAH concentrations are likely lower than historical values due to remediation in nearby areas, as well as PAH volatilization, photooxidation, and microbial degradation. Additional research is needed to explore remediation strategies and direct links to human health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Application of Ion Mobility Spectrometry–Mass Spectrometry for Compositional Characterization and Fingerprinting of a Library of Diverse Crude Oil Samples

  UNC Libraries · 2025-07-26

  articleOpen access

  Exposure characterization of crude oils, especially in time-sensitive circumstances such as spills and disasters, is a well-known analytical chemistry challenge. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is commonly used for "fingerprinting" and origin tracing in oil spills; however, this method is both time-consuming and lacks the resolving power to separate co-eluting compounds. Recent advances in methodologies to analyze petroleum substances using high-resolution analytical techniques have demonstrated both improved resolving power and higher throughput. One such method, ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS), is especially promising because it is both rapid and high-throughput, with the ability to discern among highly homologous hydrocarbon molecules. Previous applications of IMS-MS to crude oil analyses included a limited number of samples and did not provide detailed characterization of chemical constituents. We analyzed a diverse library of 195 crude oil samples using IMS-MS and applied a computational workflow to assign molecular formulas to individual features. The oils were from 12 groups based on geographical and geological origins: non-US (1 group), US onshore (3), and US Gulf of Mexico offshore (8). We hypothesized that information acquired through IMS-MS data would provide a more confident grouping and yield additional fingerprint information. Chemical composition data from IMS-MS was used for unsupervised hierarchical clustering, as well as machine learning-based supervised analysis to predict geographic and source rock categories for each sample; the latter also yielded several novel prospective biomarkers for fingerprinting of crude oils. We found that IMS-MS data have complementary advantages for fingerprinting and characterization of diverse crude oils and that proposed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon biomarkers can be used for rapid exposure characterization. 

  PublisherDOI

• Using the 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12) to evaluate self-rated health in an environmental justice community

  Archives of Public Health · 2024-10-18 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  The Greater Fifth Ward (GFW) is a Northeast Houston, Texas, neighborhood with a legacy of industrial contamination and a confirmed cancer cluster. To understand self-rated health in the GFW, community-based participatory research (CBPR), was used to promote the inclusion of all partners. CBPR involves the community during each stage of the research process from design to research dissemination. A complete census was conducted, and 114 surveys were obtained in the environmental justice (EJ) community from July to November 2021. EJ communities shoulder an unfair burden of environmental exposures, pollution, and poor built environments. Mental and physical health were measured using the validated 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12v2). We posited that the Black or African American (Black/AA) community would have lower mental composite scores (MCS) and physical composite scores (PCS) compared to the nation and their White counterparts. The MCS and PCS were calculated and compared against the national mean. Overall, participants had higher MCS and lower PCS than the national mean. Black/AA males and females had lower MCS compared to their White counterparts. White females had the lowest PCS among all respondents, significantly lower than the national average. MCS was lower among those who lived in the neighborhood longer. Burdens from pollution may impact residents' health and perceived health. Targeted interventions or programs that improve mental or physical health would benefit this community and other inequitably burdened neighborhoods.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Final 1-Year Results of the TUTOR Randomized Trial Comparing Carpal Tunnel Release with Ultrasound Guidance to Mini-open Technique

  Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Global Open · 2024-03-01 · 9 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background: Studies comparing carpal tunnel release with ultrasound guidance (CTR-US) to mini-open CTR (mOCTR) are limited. This randomized trial compared the efficacy and safety of these techniques. Methods: In this multicenter randomized trial, patients were randomized (2:1) to unilateral CTR-US or mOCTR. Outcomes included Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire Symptom Severity Scale (BCTQ-SSS) and Functional Status Scale (BCTQ-FSS), numeric pain scale (0–10), EuroQoL-5 Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L), scar outcomes, and complications over 1 year. Results: Patients received CTR-US (n = 94) via wrist incision (mean 6 mm) or mOCTR (n = 28) via palmar incision (mean 22 mm). Comparing CTR-US with mOCTR, the mean changes in BCTQ-SSS (−1.8 versus -1.8; P = 0.96), BCTQ-FSS (−1.0 versus −1.0; P = 0.75), numeric pain scale (−3.9 versus −3.8; P = 0.74), and EQ-5D-5L (0.13 versus 0.12; P = 0.79) over 1 year were comparable between groups. Freedom from scar sensitivity or pain favored CTR-US (95% versus 74%; P = 0.005). Complications occurred in 2.1% versus 3.6% of patients ( P = 0.55), all within 3 weeks postprocedure. There was one revision surgery in the CTR-US group, and no revisions for persistent or recurrent symptoms in either group. Conclusions: CTR-US and mOCTR demonstrated similar improvement in carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms and quality of life with comparable low complication rates over 1 year of follow-up. CTR-US was performed with a smaller incision and associated with less scar discomfort.

  PublisherDOI

• Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in residential soil—Houston, Texas

  Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology · 2024-09-17 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Supplemental Table S4 from Evolutionary Action Score of <i>TP53</i> Identifies High-Risk Mutations Associated with Decreased Survival and Increased Distant Metastases in Head and Neck Cancer

  2023-03-30

  preprintOpen access

  <p>Supplemental Table S4. Rate and time of tumor formation in orthotopic tongue model for individual TP53 mutations in PCI13 and UMSCC1 HNSCC cell lines.</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Supplemental Figure S3 from Evolutionary Action Score of <i>TP53</i> Identifies High-Risk Mutations Associated with Decreased Survival and Increased Distant Metastases in Head and Neck Cancer

  2023-03-30

  preprintOpen access

  <p>Supplemental Figure S3. Comparison of disruptive and truncating p53 classification systems in the training set.</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Multicenter randomized trial of carpal tunnel release with ultrasound guidance versus mini-open technique

  Expert Review of Medical Devices · 2023-05-30 · 22 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background Comparative studies of carpal tunnel release with ultrasound guidance (CTR-US) vs. mini-open CTR (mOCTR) are limited, prompting development of this randomized trial to compare efficacy and safety of these techniques.Research design and methods Patients were randomized (2:1) to CTR-US or mOCTR, treated by experienced hand surgeons (median previous cases: 12 CTR-US; 1000 mOCTR), and followed for 3 months.Results Among 149 randomized patients, 122 received CTR-US (n = 94) or mOCTR (n = 28). Mean incision length was 6 ± 2 mm in the wrist (CTR-US) vs. 22 ± 7 mm in the palm (mOCTR) (p < 0.001). Median time to return to daily activities (2 vs. 2 days; p = 0.81) and work (3 vs. 4 days; p = 0.61) were similar. Both groups reported statistically significant and clinically important improvements in Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire Symptom Severity and Functional Status Scales, Numeric Pain Scale, and EuroQoL-5 Dimension 5-Level, with no statistical differences between groups. Freedom from wound sensitivity and pain favored CTR-US (61.1% vs. 17.9%; p < 0.001). Adverse event rates were low in each group (2.1% vs. 3.6%; p = 0.55).Conclusions The efficacy and safety of CTR-US were comparable to mOCTR despite less previous surgical experience with CTR-US. The choice of CTR technique should be determined by shared decision-making between patient and physician.Clinical trial registration www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier is NCT05405218.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Application of Ion Mobility Spectrometry–Mass Spectrometry for Compositional Characterization and Fingerprinting of a Library of Diverse Crude Oil Samples

  Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · 2023-08-02 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Exposure characterization of crude oils, especially in time-sensitive circumstances such as spills and disasters, is a well-known analytical chemistry challenge. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is commonly used for "fingerprinting" and origin tracing in oil spills; however, this method is both time-consuming and lacks the resolving power to separate co-eluting compounds. Recent advances in methodologies to analyze petroleum substances using high-resolution analytical techniques have demonstrated both improved resolving power and higher throughput. One such method, ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS), is especially promising because it is both rapid and high-throughput, with the ability to discern among highly homologous hydrocarbon molecules. Previous applications of IMS-MS to crude oil analyses included a limited number of samples and did not provide detailed characterization of chemical constituents. We analyzed a diverse library of 195 crude oil samples using IMS-MS and applied a computational workflow to assign molecular formulas to individual features. The oils were from 12 groups based on geographical and geological origins: non-US (1 group), US onshore (3), and US Gulf of Mexico offshore (8). We hypothesized that information acquired through IMS-MS data would provide a more confident grouping and yield additional fingerprint information. Chemical composition data from IMS-MS was used for unsupervised hierarchical clustering, as well as machine learning-based supervised analysis to predict geographic and source rock categories for each sample; the latter also yielded several novel prospective biomarkers for fingerprinting of crude oils. We found that IMS-MS data have complementary advantages for fingerprinting and characterization of diverse crude oils and that proposed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon biomarkers can be used for rapid exposure characterization. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:2336-2349. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Supplemental Figure Legends from Evolutionary Action Score of &lt;i&gt;TP53&lt;/i&gt; Identifies High-Risk Mutations Associated with Decreased Survival and Increased Distant Metastases in Head and Neck Cancer

  2023-03-30

  preprintOpen access

  &lt;p&gt;Legends for Supplemental Figures S1-S4.&lt;/p&gt;

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant U01TS000107

  NIH · $750k · 2013

• NIH Grant R01DK051234

  NIH · $653k · 2001

• NIH Grant P01HD021350

  NIH · $38.7M · 2020

• Project 4

  NIH · $14.7M · 2022–2027

Frequent coauthors

• Peter W. Nathanielsz

  Texas Biomedical Research Institute

  75 shared

• Kirby C. Donnelly

  Texas A&M Health Science Center

  44 shared

• Natalia Schlabritz‐Loutsevitch

  32 shared

• Keith A. Kvenvolden

  28 shared

• Robin L. Autenrieth

  Texas A&M University

  27 shared

• Leslie Cizmas

  Texas A&M University

  27 shared

• Curtis R. Pickering

  Yale University

  26 shared

• Abdullah A. Osman

  26 shared

Education

• PhD, Oceanography

  Texas A&M University

  1988