National Center for Toxicological Research facts for kids

Aerial view of the Jefferson Laboratories of the FDA campus. The campus houses all NCTR operations, as well as the Arkansas Regional Laboratories (ARL), an FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) Southwest Region laboratory.

The National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) is the branch of the United States Food and Drug Administration which conducts research to define biological mechanisms of action underlying the toxicity of products regulated by the FDA. Dr. William Slikker, Jr. has been the NCTR Director since 2005.

NCTR scientist processing a microarray to measure and assess the level of genes found in a tissue sample.

The FDA toxicological research facility is geographically adjacent to the Pine Bluff Arsenal, and was once an integrated part of the installation. The U.S. Army used the facility for biological warfare research and chemical weapons development until 1969, when President Richard Nixon signed an executive order banning such research from federal facilities, and the Army subsequently transferred operation of the site to the FDA. The NCTR was established by executive order in 1971.

The research center is located off Interstate 530 in Jefferson, Arkansas. It is the only FDA center located outside the Washington, D.C. area, and its campus takes up approximately 1 million square feet.