David Ostrach

Dr Ostrach received his bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology and Neuroethology from UC San Diego and his Ph.D. in Comparative Pathology from the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis. David’s research career began at Scripps Institution of Oceanography investigating microbial degradation of crude oil spills prior to construction of the Alaska pipeline. This was followed by working on food chain research investigating population growth, feeding, development, and rejection behavior in the copepod Calanus pacificus. He took a position as Associate Research Scientist and Manager of the AquaticToxicology Laboratory at Science Applications Inc. /JRB Associates, Environmental Chemistry and Geochemistry Division in La Jolla, Ca. In that position he was responsible for the design and development of an aquatic toxicology facility including the drafting of original laboratory system plan for static and flow-through testing as well as marine and fresh water organism culture. David started and led an environmental consulting firm, Bioaquatic Consultants that specialized in the development of protocols for performance of compliance monitoring, testing for aquatic toxicology as well as terrestrial impact studies. He then entered the aquaculture business by starting the Lazy O Fish Ranch in Descanso, CA, a 28 acre aquaculture facility involved in the production and sale of various species of fish, algae and plankton as well as various organisms for use in aquatic toxicology testing/bioassays. David then took a position at UC Davis where he worked on various environmental and cancer research studies from 1987-2009. He designed and supervised the construction of the Aquatic Toxicology Research Laboratory Facility building at UC Davis. As its first director he developed and implemented inland surface water toxicity testing along with state of the art environmental research programs. The main focus of his laboratory at UC Davis was to conduct interdisciplinary research on striped bass and factors associated with its long term population decline. Recently his laboratory has been involved in the IEP’s effort to determine factors responsible for the Pelagic Organism Decline in the San Francisco Estuary. Dr. Ostrach’s laboratory at UC Davis, the Pathobiology, Conservation and Population Biology Laboratory, conducted interdisciplinary research on sublethal effects of contaminants on striped bass Morone saxatilis in the San Francisco Estuary system. His overall program goal was to better understand the long-term effects of contaminant exposure, climate change and multiple stressors on fish populations, ecosystem health and human health. David is currently Chief Scientist at Ostrach Consulting providing interdisciplinary and basic research services focusing on aquatic ecosystems, pathobiology, aquatic toxicology, risk assessment, remediation/restoration as well as fisheries, aquaculture, aquaponics and sustainable technology. His research goals are to better understand the long-term effects of contaminant exposure and multiple stressors on fish and wildlife populations, ecosystem health and to correlate findings with human health and risk assessment. Dr. Ostrach has also volunteered and worked diligently as a patient advocate for many disabled persons including; quadriplegics, paraplegics, hearing impaired, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and the mentally ill for over 30 years. His role has been to assist disabled persons and their families in navigating the healthcare system to obtain the best and most appropriate care for the patients he represents. David has acted in the capacity of patient advocate with durable power of attorney for many patients over this period of time.

• Amphibians and Reptiles
• Remediation, Restoration and Reclamation
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
• Chemical Management
• Water
• Combined Exposure
• Environmental Chemistry
• Sediment
• New Approach Methodologies
• Metals and Metalloids
• Omics
• POPs and PBTs
• Plants and Plant Protection Products
• Wildlife
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Endocrine-Active Substances
• Plastics and Polymers
• Ecosystem Services
• Nanomaterials
• Ecological Risk Assessment
• Soil
• Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
• Adverse Outcome Pathways
• Cross Species Extrapolation