BPA Researcher Awarded for ‘Disruptive’ Research

The Cornell Douglas Foundation, an environmental health and justice advocacy group based in Bethesda, Md., has named University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental health scientist Laura Vandenberg one of its 2016 Pearl Award winners in recognition of her “outstanding leadership in conducting critical research to identify and address the many issues concerning endocrine disruptors.”

The national honor comes with a $50,000 check to Vandenberg, who said, “This award is given to someone who is an irritant, someone who has perhaps encountered trouble because of the science they do, specifically in environmental health. I donated the funds to the campus so that my lab can continue to ‘cause trouble’ and work to improve agencies like EPA and the FDA as they make decisions about chemical safety.”

Vandenberg, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at UMass Amherst’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS), is an internationally known expert on the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on development and how environmental exposures in early life can contribute to adult diseases including breast cancer, infertility and obesity. She uses molecular, genetic, tissue-based and endocrine tools to investigate such chemicals as bisphenol A and S (BPA and BPS) and others used as plasticizers, in flame retardants and cosmetics.

“Dr. Vandenberg does it all, from being an excellent teacher to leading a highly-funded research laboratory. This award is unique, and does not recognize her for these accomplishments. Rather it recognizes her advocacy for the environment based on science, and her role in bringing this science to the larger community and environmental policymakers. What an incredible honor for an assistant professor,” said SPHHS Dean Marjorie Aelion.

The foundation named its award for the pearl, noting that each jewel starts as a grain of sand, an intrusion that creates a blister “conceived in pain.” Vandenberg said she deeply appreciates the metaphor and it is fitting to her career. “I started causing trouble 10 years ago as a graduate student, which maybe is early to stick your neck out. I have taken personal and professional risks by challenging the safety of chemicals worth billions of dollars. That is an uncomfortable place for a young scientist to be; it can be scary. But I had a lot encouragement that as long as the science guides my recommendations, then it’s the right thing to do. I do it because the science is strong, and because advocating for public health is the most important thing I can do in my career.

 “When you think about bad water and air pollution you can see the problem. Nobody is thinking of being polluted by canned food or their hand lotion.” Vandenberg said her immediate response to winning the Pearl Award was that someone else must be ahead of her in line, “because there are people much more senior to me that deserve it. I’ve benefited so much from people who came before me, my mentors. This award is given to people who have already accomplished something. I feel I’m just beginning to do something, so I’m grateful. This gift will give me the freedom to think about my next project.”