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Dr. Elaine Francis
EPA Employee Receives Prestigious Award from Thomas Jefferson University
(August, 2002) Dr. Elaine Francis recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Graduate Studies at Thomas Jefferson University. This award is the most prestigious honor given by the graduate school "in recognition of her scientific contributions and achievements."
Dr. Francis has been with EPA for 22 years. Since January 2000, she has been the National Program Director for EPA's endocrine disruptors research program, coordinating the intramural and extramural research programs, and working with EPA program and regional offices, other federal agencies, governments of other countries, and the regulated scientific community.
Dr. Francis began her career as a developmental/reproductive toxicologist in the Office of Toxic Substances and then in the Office of Research and Development. She spent 1991 as a legislative fellow to Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut working on pesticides, lead, and children's issues. In 1995, Dr. Francis became the Director of the Pesticides, Toxic and Multi-Media Staff in the Office of Science Policy where she coordinated the planning for research programs on toxics and pesticides, human health, ecological risk assessment, pollution prevention, and endocrine disruptors. She assumed her current position in the National Center for Environmental Research in 2000.
While at EPA, she has received many Special Act/Tribute of Appreciation Awards. She is the recipient of six Bronze Medals and received the Agency's Silver Medal for her efforts in coordinating ORD input into the 1997 G-8 Summit of Environmental Leaders. She has also been awarded the Agency's Gold Medal for her contributions to the reproductive toxicity risk assessment guidelines. In 1991, she and other members of her Branch were recipients of the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances' Dr. Joseph Seifter Award for excellence in regulatory science for advancing developmental and reproductive toxicity risk assessment within the Agency.
Dr. Francis received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from American University in Washington, D.C. and her doctorate in anatomy from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, where the focus of her training and research was on normal and abnormal human development and reproduction. She also did postdoctoral research in a collaborative study through the Departments of Anatomy, Genetics, and Obstetrics-Gynecology at Thomas Jefferson University. She taught human anatomy, neuroanatomy, and was director of the embryology course at Hahneman Medical College in Philadelphia before joining EPA.
Additional information on the STAR program can be found at the National Center for Environmental Research. For more information, contact Estella Waldman at Waldman.Estella@epa.gov.