Forensic toxicology, particularly the detection of drugs of abuse and understanding their action in the human body, is a critical public health issue. Many drugs, including illicit, prescription, and over-the-counter drugs, have impairing effects. These drugs may impair coordination, reaction time, tracking, judgement, attention, and perception. If taken in high doses or in combination with other drugs, they can result in overdoses requiring emergency medical intervention. However, intra- and inter-personal variations in drug distribution, effects, and outcomes are not well understood. I take a interdisciplinary approach and partner with public health stakeholders to add to the body of knowledge surrounding drug of abuse action and detection in the body.

When I am not working, I spend time with my husband and two children. We like to go camping, hiking, and biking. I also love to cook, read, and run.

A complete list of published work is available here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/heather.barkholtz.1/bibliography/public/