Moussa M. Diawara, Ph.D.

Positions Held

Research Experience

• Professor and Principal Investigator at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo)
• Over $2 million in research grants,
• Over 40 publications in high-visibility scientific journals.
• Environmental health and socio-economic studies, which raised public health concerns due to contamination of residential topsoil by heavy metals, and resulted, in great part, in the $74 million US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund remediation process in some neighborhoods of Pueblo, Colorado.
• Clinical trials on the impact of cannabidiol (CBD) on learning and memory.
• Clinical studies on the determination of blood lead (Pb) level of children exposed to environmental heavy metal contamination.
• Member of the CSU Pueblo Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Managerial, Teaching & Mentoring Experiance

• Developed and taught a wide range of upper division courses including environmental toxicology, environmental policy and management, medical and veterinary entomology. Risk assessment, the dose-response relationship, and drug/xenobiotic metabolism are topics discussed in the environmental toxicology class. The environmental policy and management course covers federal regulations. The discussions in the medical and veterinary entomology course include the etiology of vector-borne diseases and principles of epidemiology.
• As University Grievance Officer at CSU Pueblo, I ensure a rapid and fair process for the resolution of grievable conflicts which are not resolved through mediation.
• As former chair of the biology department at CSU Pueblo, I managed the department’s budget and personnel for three years, helped develop the wildlife major, and conducted a program review.
• As former director of the CSU Pueblo Master program in biology, I secured the graduate program, mentored undergraduate and graduate student research projects, including environmental health studies and clinical trials.

Certification

• Institutional Review Board (IRB) Member certification from Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)
• IRB Chair certification from CITI
• Advanced Training Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) certification from Certified Clinical Research Professionals Society (CCRPS)
• Advanced ICH GCP certification from CCPRS
• Mediation certification

Selected Publications

Diawara, MM., and Greteman, LM., 2025. Successful Superfund Remediation in Pueblo, Colorado: A Provocative Reflection on Community Engagement and Empowerment. Medical Research Archives, [online] 13(6). https://Doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i6.6679

Diawara, MM. 2025. Pharmacogenetics of Lead Toxicity. Medical Research Archives, [online] 13(1). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i1.6268

Gebregzi HH, Zeiger JS, Smith JP, Stuyt L, Cullen L, Carsella J, Rogers DC, Lafebre J, Knalfec J, Vargas A, Diawara MM. Oral cannabidiol did not impair learning and memory in healthy adults. J Cannabis Res. 2025 Jan 23;7(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s42238-025-00262-2. PMID: 39849639. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-025-00262-2

Peterson EK, Carsella J, Varian-Ramos CW, Schiffer T, Staples SK, Diawara M. Effects of Lead (Pb) from Smelter Operations in an Urban Terrestrial Food Chain at a Colorado Superfund Site. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 112, 17 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-023-03846-x

Diawara MM, Shrestha S, Carsella J, Farmer S. 2018. Smelting remains a public health risk nearly a century later: a case study in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15(5), 932. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15050932 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/5/932

Diawara MM and Unis D.  2009. Arsenic toxicity to preimplantation stage embryo. In Environmental Health Risks: Lead Poisoning and Arsenic Exposure, JD. Gosselin and IM. Fancher (eds.). Chapter 9. Nova Publishers. Hauppauge, NY.

Unis D, Osborn C, Diawara MM. 2009. Arsenite exposure compromises early embryonic development in the Golden hamster. Reproductive Toxicology 28:329-334 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19447171/

Diawara MM, Litt JS, Alfonso N, Unis D, Martinez LA, Smith DB, Crock JG, Carsella J. 2006. Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in surface soils, Pueblo, Colorado: Implications for population health risk. Environmental Geochemistry & Health 28:297-315. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10653-005-9000-6

Dave Unis, Marcos Unis, and Moussa M. Diawara. 2006. Effects of the Coumarin 8-methoxypsoralen on Early Embryonic Development in the Golden Hamster Mesocricetus auratus. Polyphenol Communcations. Eds. F. Daaf et al. University of Manitoba Press, Canada. Pages 463-464.

Jennifer M. Cozzetta, Cassandra L. Osborne, and Moussa M. Diawara. 2006. Toxicity of 8-MOP on the Development of Early Embryos of Xenopus laevis, the African Clawed Frog. Polyphenol Communcations. Eds. F. Daaf et al. University of Manitoba Press, Canada. Pages 113-114.

Cipolla McDermott D, Hoyer PB, and Diawara MM.  2005.  8-methoxypsoralen suppresses production of ovarian aromatase proteins.  Journal of Toxicology – Toxins Review 24: 235-245.