Advancing Protective Action for the Public’s Health Related to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
Led by: Phil Brown
This grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports two projects: “Building a National Network for Medical Guidance on PFAS” and “Mapping the policies and applications of PFAS-contaminated sludge.” Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of over 14,000 compounds, have emerged as a major public health concern due to far-reaching environmental contamination, widespread exposures among the general population, and overwhelming evidence of harmful health effects. Research, regulation, popular writing, litigation, and activism on PFAS have grown rapidly over the past decade to address the multitude of challenges posed by PFAS. This project addresses two of the most pressing unmet needs.
The goals of the Medical Guidance project are to:
- Update and extend use of our continuing medical education (CME) course on PFAS;
- Analyze the effectiveness of the CME course through pre- and post-tests, interviews, and focus groups;
- Disseminate our medical guidance documents more widely;
- Form a nationwide network of physicians and other clinicians and public health professionals to increase knowledge of PFAS health effects and provide case studies and evidence-based recommendations for clinicians to address patient needs; and
- Apply insights from this research to inform and develop new and improved forms of PFAS health education and guidance for clinicians, health agencies, environmental agencies, and the public.
The goals of the Sludge project are to
- Examine advisories, regulations, and practices for sludge application;
- Map the locations of known PFAS-sludge contamination sites; and
- Produce dissemination materials to educate and serve a variety of audiences and produce journal articles on the topic.
Project Team:
Phil Brown PhD (Northeastern University) PI
Laurel Schaider PhD (Silent Spring Institute) Co-PI
Courtney Carignan PhD (Michigan State University) Co-PI
Grace Poudrier PhD (Northeastern University) Postdoc
Michael Lengefeld Northeastern University) Postdoc
Emily Haberlack (Northeastern University) doctoral student
Vic Say (Northeastern University) doctoral student
Aaron Maruzzo MS (Silent Spring Institute) Project Coordinator
Alex Goho MS (Silent Spring Institute) Communications Coordinator
Kim Garrett PhD (CUNY) GIS Director
Alan Ducatman MD (West Virginia University) Consultant
Elizabeth Friedman MD (Children’s Mercy Hospital) Consultant
Rachel Criswell MD (Redington-Fairview General Hospital) Consultant
Jamie DeWitt PhD (Oregon State University) Consultant
Cheryl Osimo (Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition) Consultant
Andrea Amico (Testing for Pease) Consultant
Sandy Wynn-Stelt (National PFAS Contamination Coalition) Consultant
Victor Davila (Slingshot) Consultant
Erica Kyzmir-McKeon JD (Conservation Law Foundation) – Consultant
Adam Nordell (Defend Our Health) Consultant
Michael Haedicke PhD (University of Maine) Collaborator
Project Sponsor:
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
