Members of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals
The Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) provides independent advice on science and technical issues to assist EPA in implementing the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Members of the SACC are appointed by the Administrator of EPA from candidates identified through a public call for nominations. Members serve staggered terms of appointment, generally of three years.
The following list of SACC members is current as of June 15, 2021.
Chair
Dr. Daniel Schlenk
University of California-Riverside
Affiliation: University of California, Riverside, California
Expertise: Understanding the biochemical factors that influence susceptibility to environmental and natural chemicals, aquatic organisms, metabolism, mode of action analysis, and ecological risk assessment.
Education: Ph.D., Biochemical Toxicology, Oregon State University; B.S., Toxicology, Northeast Louisiana University
Experience Summary: Dr. Daniel Schlenk is Professor of Aquatic Ecotoxicology and Environmental Toxicology at the University of California-Riverside. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and from 2007-2014, he was a permanent member of the US EPA Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Science Advisory Panel of which he chaired from 2012-2014.
From 2003-2006, Dr. Schlenk was a member of the Board of Directors for the North American Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. His research interests focus on mechanisms of action of pesticides, PAHs, and emerging compounds in aquatic organisms.
Panel Experience: Dr. Schlenk’s experience on Federal panels includes: Chair US EPA FIFRA Science Advisory Panel (2012-2014); Permanent Member US EPA FIFRA Science Advisory Panel (2007-2012); USEPA Chemical Safety Advisory Committee (CSAC) (2016) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Draft Risk Assessment Work Plan Chemical for 1-Bromopropane (2016); US EPA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (2017-present); Ad hoc reviewer National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Freshwater Biomedical Centers (1996); US Department of Agriculture (1997-2000) and National Science Foundation (1996-present); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Oceans and Human Health Initiative Grant Review Panel (2005); US EPA Endocrine Disrupter Mixtures Grant Review Panel (2005); US EPA Science Advisory Board, Aquatic Life Criteria Guidelines (2005); NIEHS P30 Core-Center Applications (2008); and NIEHS Superfund Research Program P42 Center Applications (2016). Dr. Schlenk has also served on numerous State and foundation review panels and committees.
Members
Dr. Udayan Apte
University of Kansas
Affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
Expertise: Chemical carcinogenesis; perfluorinated akyl acids; hepatotoxicity; drug induced liver injury; and nuclear receptor toxicology.
Education: PhD, Toxicology, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, Louisiana; Postdoctoral training, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology
Experience Summary: Dr. Udayan Apte has 20 years of experience as a mechanistic toxicologist with a primary focus on the liver as a target organ and has been teaching toxicology to medical students and in the graduate school for 10 years. His research is focused on mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury and chemical carcinogenesis with an emphasis on the role of nuclear receptors, oncogenic signaling, stem cell biology, role of bile acids, and with recent studies on developmental hepatotoxicity of perfluorinated akyl acids and their derivatives. Dr. Apte has published over 70 original papers, 10 book chapters and has edited a book on mechanisms of liver regeneration. He has organized and given talks at several national symposiums including Society of Toxicology, American Society for Investigative Pathology, and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He is an associate editor for Scientific Reports and serves on the editorial boards of Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, GE Liver, and American Journal of Pathology. Dr. Apte has served on several grant review panels for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (study sections) including R21, p01 study sections for National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Hepatobiliary Pathophysiology (HBPP). He has served as a reviewer for the American Cancer Society, Veterans for Foreign Wars grants panel and several international panels from Austria, The Netherlands and Hong Kong.
Panel Experience: Dr. Apte has served as an ad hoc peer reviewer for the Environmental Protection Agency, Toxic Substances Control Act, Science Committee on Chemicals for the reviews of the draft risk evaluations for 1,4 Dioxane and HBCD (July 2019) and Trichloroethylene (March 2020), respectively.
Dr. Marissa Baker
University of Washington
Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Environment and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Expertise: Environmental and occupational hygiene.
Education: PhD, Environmental & Occupational Hygiene, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; MS, Occupational and Environmental Exposure Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; BA, Biological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Experience Summary: Dr. Marissa Baker is trained in occupational hygiene, with a fundamental knowledge of occupations—including exposures prevalent in different occupations, how they are generally assessed in the workplace, and the feasibility of different controls. Her general area of research in environmental and occupational health is in exposure assessment of fumes and metals, and the use of biomarkers as a means of monitoring, evaluating, and diagnosing environmental health exposures and their related outcomes. Dr. Baker has expertise in the use of novel investigative techniques such as metabolomics for assessing both exposure and markers of disease outcomes (e.g., for manganese, phthalates, shift work) among worker populations, and extensive expertise in exposure modeling using both primary and secondary data sources. Dr. Baker was included (as Co-Investigator or Principal Investigator) on several federal grants assessing biomarkers of exposure and effects in occupational cohorts, where she has gained considerable expertise in collecting and analyzing biological, exposure, and questionnaire data, both in the laboratory and using statistical methods. Dr. Baker has served as a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association Pacific Northwest Chapter, the Association for Women in Science Seattle Chapter, the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), a working group member of IARC Monograph 118 “Welding, Welding Fumes, and Related Chemicals,” is a fellow of the consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate STEM Education, and as Chair of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH) Early Career Network. Dr. Baker also serves as the associate editor for Frontiers in Public Health (2018-present).
Panel Experience: Dr. Baker served on the following panels and committees: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Physical Agents Committee (Consultant) (2018-present); Scientific Committee, EPICOH (Epidemiology in Occupational Health) (2020) Participant; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Data Science Innovation Lab (2019); National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Intramural Reviewer (2019); Grant Reviewer, Puerto Rico Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (2018);, Global Burden of Disease-Population Health Initiative Working Group Member (2018); and Working Group Member, IARC Monograph 118: Welding and related chemicals (2017).
Dr. Sheri Blystone
SNF Holding Company
Affiliation: Director of Regulatory Affairs and Product Safety with SNF Holding Company in Riceboro, Georgia
Expertise: Dr. Blystone has over 20 years as a practitioner of product safety and compliance in the chemical industry. Extensive knowledge in global chemical regulation including new chemical notification, hazard communication, risk management, emerging issues management, and advocacy.
Education: PhD, Organometallic chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Experience Summary: Dr. Blystone has over 20 years as a practitioner of product safety and compliance in the chemical industry. Prior to her current position with SNF Holding Company, Dr. Blystone was the Senior Manager of Product EHS (Americas) for Huntsman International. She has also held positions in chemical product safety and compliance for Honeywell, General Electric, and Lubrizol. In those positions, Dr. Blystone has directly worked with characterizing chemical product hazards, hazard communication, new chemical notifications and registrations, and risk management for a wide variety of commercial chemical products.
Panel Experience: Dr. Blystone has no prior government or international governmental organization advisory panel experience.
Dr. Christine Chaisson
The Lifeline Group
Affiliation: Director, Senior Scientist/Risk Assessor, The Lifeline Group
Expertise: Model design for aggregate and cumulative risk.
Education: PhD, Biochemistry, George Washington University, Washington, DC; BA, Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
Experience Summary: For almost four decades, Dr. Christine Chaisson led the design of multiple assessment models addressing aggregate and cumulative risk concepts, exposure-based chemical prioritization, dietary and activity profiling for unique communities (including tribal and ethnically defined communities) and post-disaster chemical hazard profiling for communities. Her career began in risk assessment with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances. At EPA, she designed a probabilistic dietary exposure assessment model to aid pesticide regulatory decision-making. She was also the liaison to international regulatory agencies such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In 1985, Dr. Chaisson co-founded Technical Assessment Systems (TAS), which became a premier exposure/risk assessment consulting firm internationally. She co-founded The LifeLine Group in 2000, a not-for-profit organization developing publicly available state-of-the-art exposure and risk assessment models with applications to contemporary issues. Dr. Chaisson led research for Smithsonian curators at the Museum of the American Indian to assess potential exposures resulting from their work with artifacts made with toxic paints or stored in containers with very toxic pesticides. She served as a Councilor in the International Society of Exposure Assessment, a member of Society of Risk Assessment [past President of its DC chapter], the Toxicology Forum, The United Agribusiness League and the Institute of Food Technologists. She also served on the National Council for Arts and Sciences of the George Washington University (GWU) and the Dean's Advisory Board for the GWU Graduate School of Political Management. Dr. Chaisson serves as a member of the External Advisory Board of the Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research at the Zuckerman College of Public Health/University of Arizona. She is an advisor to Food Quality magazine. She has published extensively in the fields of exposure and risk assessment. In 2011, Dr. Chaisson was the invited Co-Chair of the Milan ISES/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) special conference on exposure science challenges presented by global legislative initiatives on consumer products and chemicals in trade. Career activity in additional organizations include Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, and the Institute of Food Technology. Dr. Chaisson mentored several doctoral students’ dissertation projects (including Boston University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, University of Arizona). Currently Dr. Chaisson is a Director and Senior Scientist of The LifeLine Group, directing research including serving as Co-PI on projects funded by NIEHS.
Panel Experience: Dr. Chaisson serves on the External Advisory Board of the Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research at the Zuckerman College of Public Health/University of Arizona (2010-present).
Dr. George Cobb
Baylor University
Affiliation: Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Expertise: Environmental chemistry; analytical chemistry; and exposure assessment.
Education: PhD, Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida; BS, Chemistry, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina.
Experience Summary: Dr. George Cobb is a professor of Environmental Science and Department Chairman at Baylor University. He has over 35 years of experience assessing fate and effects of chemicals in the environment. Dr. Cobb has published over 135 peer reviewed journal articles in this area of inquiry and has successfully assessed adverse effects that contaminants cause in organisms, both in environment and controlled laboratory studies. Successful field assessments have included normal-use pesticide applications, National Priorities List sites, and state and municipal air and water quality. Most recently, Dr. Cobb’s group has emphasized: nanomaterial alteration of amphibian development and of rice accumulation of metal toxicants; interactions of toxicants and light to induce stress; airborne steroid movement from concentrated animal feeding operations; transformation of explosives in mammals; and ultra-high-resolution Mass Spectrometry screening. Within the American Chemical Society, he has been named a Fellow, as well as serving as the immediate past Chairman of the Environmental Chemistry Division, and a member of the Committee for Environmental Improvement. Dr. Cobb is a Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Fellow and is also former President of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), North America. He and currently serves as an Editor for the Journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
Panel Experience: Dr. Cobb’s experience includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board: Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Assessment for Hexahydro-1,3,5- trinitro1,3,5- triazine (2016-2017). U.S. EPA Toxic Substance Control Act Science (TSCA) peer review on Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) chemicals (2018) and ad hoc member of the TSCA Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) (2019-2020). U.S. EPA Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Scientific Advisory Panel (ad hoc member for 15 reviews completed, Rapporteur 4, 1999-2018), addressing topics related to ecological and human health risk assessments, from the inception of Ecological Committee on FIFRA Risk Assessment Methods (ECOFRAM ) through recent RNAi assessments for crop protection. U.S. EPA Nanomaterials Research Plan Review (2007). U.S. EPA STAR and GRO Fellowship Reviews (1999-2007). National Science Foundation (NSF) Frontiers Proposal review (2015). NSF CBET Grant Review Panels (2010-2020). EPA/NSF Networks for Characterizing Chemical Life Cycle Proposal Review (2013). American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Corporate Award Review (2016, 2018).
Dr. Holly Davies
Washington State Department of Health
Affiliation: Washington State Department of Ecology, Lacy, Washington
Expertise: Sustainability, human health and ecological risk assessments; scientific studies supporting state chemical policy.
Education: PhD, Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; BS, Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Experience Summary: Dr. Holly Davies is a senior toxicologist at the Washington State Department of Health. She is an experienced professional in chemical policy, scientific research, and teaching. Her work has focused on evaluating uses of toxic chemicals, including chemicals of emerging concern and persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals (PBT), and identifying actions needed to protect human health and the environment. Dr. Davies is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment and actively participates in the Children's Environmental Health Working Group within the Washington Chapter of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment. Her postdoctoral research (2000-2004) is on mammalian reproduction and development, transcription factors, and genomics.
Panel Experience: Dr. Davies has served on the Peer Review of the Draft Risk Assessment for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan Chemical 1-Bromopropane (CASRN-106-94-5) [May 24-25, 2016] advisory panel and on the Chemical Safety Advisory Committee (CSAC) Orientation Session on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) [May 11, 2016] advisory committee.
Dr. William Doucette
Utah State University (Retired)
Affiliation: Utah State University, Logan, Utah (retired)
Expertise: Ecological risk assessment; fate and behavior of organic contaminants in the environment.
Education: PhD, Aquatic Chemistry; BS and MS, Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Experience Summary: Dr. William Doucette is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University (USU), and serves as the Associate Director of the Utah Water Research Laboratory. He is also a faculty member in the Toxicology Graduate Program and an Adjunct Professor (concurrently) in the Chemistry and Biochemistry and Geology Departments. Dr. Doucette’s research focuses on the fate and behavior of organic contaminants in the environment with emphasis on phytoremediation, the uptake of industrial chemicals into plants, the measurement and prediction of physical-chemical properties using Quantitative Structure Property Relationships (QSPRs), emission of chlorinated solvents into indoor air, and the environmental fate of pharmaceuticals.
Panel Experience: Dr. Doucette has served on numerous advisory panels [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chemical Safety Advisory Committee (CSAC) [May 2016]; International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Bioaccumulation Project Committee Workshop on Terrestrial Bioaccumulation (January 8-10, 2013); National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Proposal Review Panel, Superfund Research Program, P42 (November 1-2, 2012); State of Utah Solid and Hazardous Waste Control Board (1998-2007); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Proposal Review Panel, Innovative Approaches to Remediation of Recalcitrant Hazardous Substances in Sediments (June 5-6, 2007); University of Wisconsin (UW) Sea Grant Peer Review Panel (August 7-8, 2007); EPA Science Advisory Board, EPI Suite Review Panel (March 7-9, 2006); CATABOL Review Panel (February 21-23, 2006); University of Wisconsin (UW) Sea Grant Peer Review Panel (August 19-20, 2003); Department of Energy (DOE)/ National Science Foundation (NSF) Peer Review Panel, Phytoremediation (April 1-2, 2003); EPA Peer Review Panel, Environmental Chemistry (Oct. 18-20, 1999); EPA Peer Review Panel, Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 (January 26-29, 1999); EPA Peer Review Panel, Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 (January 26-29, 1998); EPA Peer Review Panel, Environmental Chemistry (May 5-7, 1996); and EPA Peer Review Panel, Chemistry and Physics of Water and Soil (December 15-18,1990)].
Dr. Wendy Heiger-Bernays
Boston University
Affiliation: Clinical Professor, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
Expertise: Environmental Toxicology, Human Health Risk Assessment, Environmental Exposure, Endocrine System Mixture Toxicology.
Education: PhD, Biochemistry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska; BS, Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
Experience Summary: Dr. Heiger-Bernays is a Clinical Professor of Environmental Health with 25 years of research, teaching and practice focusing on methods to assess toxicity of environmental hazards and health risk to susceptible populations exposed to legacy and emerging contaminants. She has published on community-engaged exposure and risk assessments to regulated chemicals. Her recent work in toxicology includes assessment of thyroid active chemicals, evaluation of reference doses for chemicals with developmental effects derived from traditional methods compared with those derived from in vitro methods, and research on the mechanisms by which individual and mixtures of endocrine active chemicals effect molecular pathways involved in changes in lipid profiles in animal models and in cell culture. All of this work relies on the use of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ToxCast data, expanded to the National Toxicology Program’s Tox21 Toolbox.
Panel Experience: Dr. Heiger-Bernays has served on five EPA FIFRA Science Advisory Panels (2007-2010); the EPA Science Advisory Board committee: Review of data for development of a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for perchlorate (2012-2013); EPA Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) Workgroup (2002-2005); National Toxicology Program (NTP) Technical Report Peer Group. Review of NTP Toxicological Reports Evaluating Carcinogenicity (2011-2012); Science Advisory Board, MA Toxic Use Reduction Institute (2018-present); Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Science Advisory Committee, Office of Research and Standards, (2019- present).
Dr. Mark Johnson
U. S. Army Public Health Center
Affiliation: Director of Toxicology, U.S. Army Public Health Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Expertise: Risk assessment, toxicology, ecology.
Education: PhD, Veterinary Science, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine; MSc. University of Delaware; BS, Biology Townson State University.
Experience Summary: Dr. Johnson currently serves as the Director of Toxicology, U.S. Army Public Health Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland where he is responsible for the operational and technical arm of the Army Surgeon General and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for toxicological matters. He has worked extensively in the evaluation of the toxicity of military unique compounds and development and evaluation of a phased approach to the gathering of toxicity data for new compounds under development. Dr. Johnson has been a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) since 1997 and is a Steering Group Member of several World Interest Groups (e.g., Wildlife Toxicology World Interest Group, Ecological Risk Assessment World Interest Group, and Science Committee for SETAC North America). Dr. Johnson is the chair of the Tri-Service Toxicology Consortium and has over 100 published peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, and book chapters on toxicology and risk assessment.
Panel Experience: Dr. Johnson has served on multiple North Atlantic Treaty Organization Science and Technology Organization (NATO STO panels) (e.g., Applied Vehicle Technology (AVT) 322 Combustion Products, Exposure and Related Risks, AVG-276-RLS-042 on Environmental Management of Munition and Greener Approaches to Design) and The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) Panels (WPN/Technical Panel 4, Energetic Materials and Propulsion Technology, Environmental Aspects of Energetic Materials, U.S. Area of Interest Annual Reports; TTCP Technical Report CP 4-42, Assessing the Potential Environmental and Human Health Consequences of Energetic materials: A Phased Approach, TR-WPN-TP04-15-2014). He is a Steering Group Member of the Wildlife Toxicology World Interest Group, Chair of Ecological Risk Assessment World Interest Group, and a member of the Science Committee for SETAC North America. Dr. Johnson was the past chair of the Terrestrial Toxicity Subcommittee of the Biological Fate and Effects Committee of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the past president of the American Board of Toxicology (ABT) and current chair of the Tri-Service Toxicology Consortium. He also serves as a government liaison on the National Research Council (NRC)/National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee on Emerging Science for Environmental Decision Making.
Dr. John Kissel
University of Washington (Retired)
Affiliation: University of Washington (Retired), Seattle, Washington
Expertise: Chemistry, human exposure (including susceptible life stages and subpopulations) to environmental contaminants.
Education: PhD, Civil Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California; SM, Environmental Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; BS, Civil Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.
Experience Summary: Dr. John Kissel is Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was a member of the faculty since 1990. He held a prior position in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. He is a registered Professional Engineer who was previously employed as a process engineer at Black and Veatch Engineers located in Kansas City, Missouri.
Dr. Kissel’ s former research interests involved human exposure assessment with emphasis on exposures related to waste management, agricultural and residential use of pesticides, and consumer products. He also conducted research in probabilistic prediction of aggregate exposure and reconciliation of model predictions with observed biomarker data. Dr. Kissel is a former President of the International Society of Exposure Science.
Panel Experience: Dr. Kissel served one term as Chair of the Exposure Assessment Specialty Group within the Society for Risk Analysis (1995-1996), on two National Academy of Sciences Committees (2004 - 2005 and 2014 - 2015), on nine USEPA FIFRA Science Advisory Panels (1998 - 2010), and on EPA's Human Studies Review Board (2014 - 2015).
Dr. Carmen Messerlian
Harvard University
Affiliation: Assistant Professor of Environmental Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology; Director, Scientific Early Life Environmental Health & Development (SEED) Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
Expertise: Maternal and paternal environmental exposures to phthalates, phenols, and perfluoroalkyl substances, and their mixtures on fertility, pregnancy, birth, and child health outcomes.
Education: PhD in Epidemiology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; MS in Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,
United Kingdom; BS in Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Experience Summary: Dr. Carmen Messerlian served as a Research Fellow, Research Scientist, and currently as an Assistant Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the Departments of Epidemiology and Environmental Health. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Messerlian served at McGill University as a Doctoral Research Fellow, and as Director of Programs and Research. She has also served as a pediatric nurse, health promotion consultant, and public health consultant for state and federal governments. Dr. Messerlian is a member of several professional societies and has served as Executive Committee Member of Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research (SPER) (2017-2018) and as the Vice-Chair of the Environmental Reproductive Special Interest Group of American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) (2019-2020). She has served as a reviewer on many academic publications and is currently the Associate Editor of Human Reproduction.
Panel Experience: Dr. Messerlian has served as a Committee Member, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Committee to Develop a Scoping Plan to Assess the Hazards of Organohalogen Flame Retardants (2018-2019), and as a Committee Member of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES, France) to Assess Reproductive, Perinatal and Pediatric Health Effects of Chlordecone (2019-2021).
Dr. Jennifer Przybyla
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Affiliation: Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Atlanta Georgia
Expertise: Epidemiology; Risk Assessment; Environmental Health; Toxicology; Exposure Science
Education: PhD Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon; MS, Natural Science;
Concentration in Forensic Chemistry. Southeast Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri; MS, Analytical Chemistry, Virginia Tech
University, Blacksburg, Virginia; BS/BA, Biology/Criminal Justice, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Experience Summary: Dr. Jennifer Przybyla is an epidemiologist with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) with over ten years of experience in the environmental health field. Her research has focused on detection of chemicals at hazardous waste sites; health effects of exposure to chemical mixtures; and risk assessment of chemicals at Superfund Sites. Currently she develops toxicological profiles and minimal risk levels used to inform communities living near hazardous waste sites of health risks from exposure to environmental chemicals. She has served as a panel member in the National Academies Standing Committee on Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decision Workshop "Integrating the Science of Aging and Environmental Health Research (2020) and as a subject matter expert (SEM) in environmental epidemiology and risk assessment for a feasibility assessment for a cancer cluster investigation for the Texas Department of State Health Services (TCEQ).
Panel Experience: Dr. Przybyla has served as a critical reviewer for many Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notice of funding opportunities including: State-Based Public Health Laboratory Biomonitoring Programs (2019); Strengthening Environmental Health Capacity Data, Hazards, and Assessments (2020); A Comprehensive Public Health Approach to Asthma Control Through Evidence-Based Interventions (2019); ATSDR's Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE) (2020). Dr. Przybyla has served as a critical reviewer for round robin review of a Health Advisory for Putnam County, New York (2019).
Dr. David Reif
North Carolina State University
Affiliation: Professor of Bioinformatics and Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Expertise: Bioinformatics; computational toxicology; statistics; genetics; data science for environmental health and toxicology.
Education: PhD, Human Genetics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Postdoctoral training, Exposure Science and Computational
Toxicology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); MS, Applied Statistics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; BS, Biology
(minor in Finance), College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Experience Summary: Dr. David Reif is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and resident member of the Bioinformatics Research Center at North Carolina State University (NCSU). He is Director of the Bioinformatics Consulting and Service Core, Director of the Data Management and Analysis Core of the Superfund Research Center, and Co-Director of the Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core of the Center for Human Health and the Environment. Prior to joining the faculty at NCSU, he was a Statistician (PI) with the EPA’s National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT). The overarching research goal of the Reif Lab (www.reif-lab.org) is to understand the complex interactions between human health and the environment through the integrated analysis of high-dimensional data from diverse sources. Dr. Reif serves as Associate Editor for Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) and BioData Mining and is on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (JESEE) and Frontiers in Toxicology. His efforts in research, teaching, and outreach have been recognized with several honors and selection to expert committees, including those for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Dr. Reif participates as Funding/Panel Reviewer: National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections on Bioengineering Sciences and Technologies (BST), Systemic Injury by Environmental Exposure (SIEE), Biomedical Computing and Health Informatics (BCHI), Digestive, Kidney and Urological Systems (DKUS) (2012-present); EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) and National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) (2014-present); and NSF Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) (2015).
Panel Experience: Dr. Reif’s panel experience includes an Expert Reviewer: National Academies of Science (NAS) (2016-2018); World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (2017-2018); and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), State of California (2019).
Dr. Craig Rowlands
Underwriters Laboratories
Affiliation: Underwriters Laboratories (UL), LLC, Northbrook, Illinois
Expertise: Human health risk assessment, molecular biology, systems biology, toxicology applications to chemical risk assessments, sustainability and toxicant modes of action.
Education: PhD, Toxicology, and BS, Biochemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
Experience Summary: Dr. Craig Rowlands is a Senior Toxicologist with UL Supply Chain and Sustainability where he provides leadership in the development of new approaches and capabilities for safety assessments of chemicals and consumer products. He is an expert in navigating regulatory compliance for new substances and products through delivery of the appropriate safety data and risk assessments.
His research focuses on systems biology and toxicology applications to chemical risk assessments, sustainability and toxicant modes of action. He is an Adjunct Professor of Toxicology at Michigan State University, Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, and a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition.
Prior to his tenure at Underwriters Laboratories, Dr. Rowlands was employed with the Toxicology and Environmental Research & Consulting program at Dow Chemical Company, where he practiced chemical risk assessment and led the development of new approaches to risk assessment policy and practices on the application of 21st century non-animal toxicity testing methods.
Panel Experience: Dr. Rowlands serves on the Society of Toxicology, Current Concepts in Toxicology Committee [2015-Present]; Co-chair, American Chemistry Council, Public Health and Science Policy Sub-team, Science Integrity and Risk Assessment Working Group [2009 - Present], Steering Committee, International Life Sciences Institute, Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, Risk21 Project [2010 - Present]; Co-chair, International Life Sciences Institute, Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, Risk21 Project, Dose-Response sub-team [2010 - Present]; Co-chair, International Life Sciences Institute, Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, Non-Animal Alternatives Framework Project [2014 - Present].
Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana
University of Washington
Affiliation: Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington
Expertise: Pediatrics, epidemiology, pediatric environmental health, exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including phthalates and bisphenol A and their impact on reproductive development.
Education: MD, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California; MPH, Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; BA, Environmental Science & Policy/Philosophy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Experience Summary: Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Associate Professor within the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington. She is the medical director of the University of Washington Newborn Nursery.
Her research interests focus on exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including phthalates and bisphenol A and their impact on reproductive and child health development.
Panel Experience: Dr. Sathyanarayana previously served as Chair of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (2013 – 2015), and Co-Chair (2012 - 2013); US Environmental Protection Agency, Science Advisory Board (SAB) (2013 – 2015); the National Academies of Sciences Committee on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Low Dose Toxicity (2015 – 2017); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Trade Center Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee (2016 – present).
Dr. Charles Vorhees
University of Cincinnati
Affiliation: Professor of Pediatrics and Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio
Expertise: Research on the effects and mechanisms of neurotoxic chemicals with emphasis on developmental neurotoxicity for environmental agents and drugs; genetically engineered models of pediatric neurological disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Education: PhD and MA, Neurobiology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; BA, Psychology/Biology, University of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Experience Summary: Dr. Charles Vorhees is Professor of Neuroscience in the Division of Pediatric Neurology at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with over 35 years of experience in neurotoxicology and developmental neurotoxicology. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Neurotoxicology & Teratology for 9 years and section editor for 15 and is on the faculty of graduate programs in Neuroscience and Molecular & Developmental Biology. He was Program Director of the latter for 6 years and Director of Graduate Studies and Admissions for the former for 4 years. He is on the Executive Committees of both programs and on the Admissions Committee of the Neuroscience Program. He served as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and agencies in New Zealand, United Kingdom, Israel, Ireland, Rhode Island, and others. Dr. Vorhees served on National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Research Council (NRC), EPA, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panels. He has been an NIH grant recipient for over 35 years, including a T32 training grant from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) that trains teratologists and neurotoxicologists. He published over 330 research articles and chapters. He is Co-Director of the Animal Behavior Core member of the Editorial Boards of NeuroToxicology and Brain, Behavior & Immunity. He has mentored 33 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows and teaches in a graduate course in Teratology, Neuroscience, Safety Pharmacology.
Panel Experience: Dr. Vorhees’ experience on federal panels includes: EPA, Science Advisory Board (SAB), Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee, Toxicological Review Benzo[a]pyrene, (IRIS), (2015); Duke Univ., NIH/EPA Children’s Environmental Health Center., 2014–2018; EPA: FIFRA, SAP, Office of Pesticide Programs, Chlorpyrifos Health Effects (2012); FDA Food Advisory Committee (2011), NIH, NIDA, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Committee (1998), Regular member, Neurophysiology & Neuroanatomy Committee (1994–1998), NIDA-3 Committee (1994), NIDA-1 & NIDA-3 (1994), NIDA-3 Committee (1993), NIDA-1 Committee, (1992); NIDA-1 (1991); Welcome Trust (1991); NICHD, HED AHR-S2 (1990); NICHD, Site Visit, University of Wisconsin (1989); U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (1989); NICHD, Human Embryology & Development Committee, (1989); NIDA-D (1989); Veterans Affairs reviewer (1986); March of Dimes reviewer (1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989); NSF, reviewer (1981, 1982, & 1985); NICHD, Reproductive Biology Committee, Bethesda (1987); NIDA-D (1987); NICHD, Site Visit, Boston University (1986), NICHD, Site Visit, University of Rochester (1984).