About Joseph Brain
Lived 1940 – 2024 (aged 84). Joseph Brain was an American physiologist.
Joseph David Brain (January 20, 1940 – January 29, 2024) was an American physiologist and environmental health researcher, who served as the Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Physiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he taught and researched for over fifty years.
Early life Born in Paterson, New Jersey and raised in Wayne, New Jersey, Brain attended Eastern Christian High School in North Haledon, New Jersey, after which he went in 1957 to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, where he majored in physics. After his graduation from (then) Taylor College, Brain was offered the Danforth Foundation Graduate Fellowship (1961–1966) at Harvard.
Education High School Diploma, 1957, Eastern Christian High School, North Haledon, New Jersey B.A. (Physics, Summa cum laude), 1961, Taylor University, Upland, Indiana at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and participated in the leadership of The Lown Institute. After graduation from Taylor, Brain was offered the Danforth Foundation Graduate Fellowship (1961–1966) at Harvard.
Honors U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Fellowship in Health Physics 1961–1962 Danforth Foundation Graduate Fellowship 1961–1966 USPHS Radiological Health Fellowship 1962–1966 NIH Research Career Development Award 1969–1974 Aaron Brown Lecturer (University of Pittsburgh) 1981 American Men and Women of Science 1982 Alumnus of the Year, Taylor University 1984 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science 1987 NIH MERIT Award 1987–1995 Henry D. Chadwick Medal, Massachusetts Thoracic Society 1993 Honorary Professor of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), 1999, Wuhan, China Recognition of Merit, Librarians, Archivists, and Museum Professionals in the History of the Health Sciences's (LAMPHHS), 2022
Selected publications Lichtenstein JHR, Molina RM, Donaghey TC, Brain JD. "Strain differences influence murine pulmonary responses to Stachybotrys chartarum". Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2006; 35:415–23. Trujillo JR, Rogers R, Molina RM, Dangond F, McLane MF, Essex M, Brain JD. "Non-infectious entry of HIV-1 into peripheral and brain macrophages mediated by the mannose receptor". PNAS. 2007; 104(12):5097–5102. Molina RM and Brain JD. "In vivo comparison of cat alveolar and pulmonary intravascular macrophages: phagocytosis, particle clearance, and cytoplasmic motility". Exp Lung Res. 2007; 33(2):53–70. Brain JD, Curran MA, Donaghey T, Molina R. "Responses of the lungs to nanomaterials depend on exposure, clearance, and material characteristics". Nanotoxicology. 2009; 3(1–4):173–9. Bellows CF, Molina RM, Brain JD. "Diminished organelle motion in murine Kupffer cells during the erythrocytic stage of malaria". J R Soc Interface. 2011 May 6;8(58):711–9. Lichtenstein JHR, Molina RM, Donaghey TC, Amuzie C, Pestka JJ, Coull BA, Brain JD. "Pulmonary responses to Stachybotrys chartarum and its toxins: Mouse strain affects clearance and macrophage cytotoxicity". Toxicol Sci. 2010 Jul;116(1):113–21. Molina RM, Phattanarudee S, Kim J, Thompson K, Wessling-Resnick M, Maher TJ, Brain JD. "Ingestion of Mn and Pb by rats during and after pregnancy alters behavior in offspring". NeuroToxicology. 2011; 32(4):413–22. Thompson K, Molina R, Donaghey T, Schwob J, Brain JD. "Manganese uptake and distribution in the brain after methyl bromide-induced lesions in the olfactory epithelia". Toxicol Sci. 2011 Mar;120(1):163–72. Mendivil CO, Teeter JG, Finch GL, Schwartz PF, Riese RJ, Kawabata T, Brain JD. "Trough insulin levels in bronchoalveolar lavage following inhaled human insulin (Exubera®) in patients with diabetes mellitus". Diabetes Technol Ther. 2012; 14(1):50–8. Molina R, Schaider L, Donaghey T, Shine J, Brain JD. "Mineralogy affects geoavailability, bioaccessibility and bioavailability of zinc". Environ Pollut. 2013; 182:217–24. Pirela S, Molina R, Watson C, Cohen J, Bello, Demokritou P, Brain JD. "Effects of copy center particles on the lungs: A toxicological characterization using a Balb/c mice model". Inhalation Toxicology. 2013; 25(9):498–508. Molina RM, Konduru NV, Jimenez RJ, Wohlleben W, Brain JD. "Bioavailability, distribution and clearance of tracheally instilled, gavaged or injected cerium dioxide nanoparticles and ionic cerium". Environ Sci: Nano. 2014; 1:561–73. Brain JD, Kreyling WG, and Godleski JJ. "Inhalation Toxicology". In: Hayes' Principles and Methods of Toxicology. Sixth Edition. Edited By: A. Wallace Hayes and Claire L. Kruger. CRC Press: Boca Raton. 2014. Pages 1385–1444. Mendivil CO, Koziel H, Brain JD. "Metabolic hormones, apolipoproteins, adipokines, and cytokines in the alveolar lining fluid of healthy adults: compartmentalization and physiological correlates". PLoS One. 2015 Apr 7;10(4):e0123344 (15 pages). Rosenblum-Lichtenstein JH, Hsu Y-H, Gavin IM, Donaghey TC, Molina RM, Thompson KJ, Chi C-L, Gillis BS, Brain JD. "Environmental mold and mycotoxin exposures elicit specific cytokine and chemokine responses". PLoS One. 2015 May 26;10(5):e0126926. (22 pages) Watson CY, Damiani F, Ram-Moham S, Rodrigues S, de Moura Queiroz P, Donaghey TC, Rosenblum Lichtenstein JH, Brain JD, Krishnan R, Molina RM. "Screening for chemical toxicity using cryopreserved precision cut lung slices". Toxicological Sciences. 2016;150(1):225–33. Rosenblum Lichtenstein JH, Molina RM, Donaghey TC, Hsu YH, Mathews JA, Kasahara DI, Park JA, Bordini A, Godleski JJ, Gillis BS, Brain JD. "Repeated mouse lung exposures to Stachybotrys chartarum shift immune response from type 1 to type 2". Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2016 May 5. [Epub ahead of print]
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Important facts
People in Joseph Brain's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Joseph Brain?
American physiologist and environmental health researcher
When was Joseph Brain born?
Joseph Brain was born on 20 January 1940 in Paterson.
When did Joseph Brain die?
Joseph Brain died on 29 January 2024.
What was Joseph Brain's occupation?
Joseph Brain was a physiologist.
What nationality was Joseph Brain?
Joseph Brain was American.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: Joseph Brain (academic)
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Joseph Brain. https://biography.guide/joseph-brain-physiologist/
MLA: "Joseph Brain." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/joseph-brain-physiologist/.
Chicago: "Joseph Brain." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/joseph-brain-physiologist/.
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