Jeffrey Mark Paull

Dr. Jeffrey Mark Paull was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He earned his BS in Chemistry and Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene from the University of Pittsburgh, and his MPH and Doctorate of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Paull’s career as an environmental toxicologist and scientific expert in the field of occupational and environmental health spans over thirty years (1976 – 2008).

Since that time, Dr. Paull has devoted himself to his passion for Jewish genealogical research and writing. His first book, entitled: A Noble Heritage: The History and Legacy of the Polonsky and Paull Family in America, traces his family’s ancestry over a millennium of history, and discovers their lost rabbinical heritage dating back to Rashi (1040 – 1105). His book was recently featured on the PBS website, “Finding your Roots, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.”

Dr. Paull is very active in the field of genetic genealogy, and has published numerous pioneering autosomal and Y-DNA studies in which he has identified the unique Y-DNA genetic signature of some of Eastern Europe’s most renowned tzaddiks, rabbinical lineages, and Chassidic dynasties, including the Katzenellenbogen and Polonsky rabbinical lineages, the Twersky and Savran-Bendery Chassidic dynasties, and the Shpoler Zeida’s lineage. Research studies to identify the Y-DNA genetic signature of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, Rabbi Raphael of Bershad, Rabbi Yehuda Kahana of Sighet, and the Rappaport-Cohen, and Shapiro rabbinical lineages are currently underway.

Dr. Paull’s many genealogy-related book chapters, research articles, and publications have surpassed 16,000 views, placing him in the top one percent of all researchers on Academia.edu. More in-depth information regarding Dr. Paull’s books, and related genealogy and family history projects, may also be