Distinguished Lecturer Program
Distinguished Lecturer Committee · Nominating Candidates · ISES Distinguished Lecturers
Previous Distinguished Lecturers
Dr. Paul J. Lioy (Term 2008-2010)
Dr. Paul J. Lioy is a Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School , Piscataway, New Jersey, USA. He is Deputy Director for Government Relations at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute and is the Director of the Institute's program in Exposure Science. He co-directs the Center for Exposure and Risk Modeling. Dr. Lioy is a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board and a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee and the asbestos committee.
He is a founder of ISES, served as its President, and is a Wesolowski Award recipient. He was chair of the NRC's first committee on exposure assessment that published the "White Book" in 1991. He and a team of colleagues completed research projects on the exposure and health effects caused by the World Trade Center aftermath, and he now studies biologic and chemical agent acute exposure reduction strategies for homeland security and natural disasters. Currently, Dr. Lioy is also a part of the National Children's Study Queens Vanguard Center.
Prof. Dr. Cornelius Johannes (Kees) van Leeuwen (Term 2007-2009)
Kees van Leeuwen (1955) is a Principal Scientist at TNO Quality of Life, The Netherlands, and is a retired Director of the Institute for Health and Consumer Protection from the European Commission. He started his environmental research career at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, and gradually developed into science-policy advice and management of chemicals, health and environmen. He has been a member of ISES, the OECD Management Board, the Dutch Health Council and the external science advisory panel of the European and American chemical industry.
As education and capacity builder, he has been a prominent speaker during risk assessment courses and is best qualified to speak on risk assessment and management of chemicals, REACH, intelligent testing strategies and quantitative structure activity relationships. He has been used as an expert by the OECD, European Union, US Environmental Protection Agency, European Chemical Industry Organization and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. He gave keynote lectures and published over 160 reports and publications and a book on risk assessment of chemicals.
Prof. Matti J. Jantunen (Term 2006-2008)
Prof. Jantunen, research professor at the Finnish National Public Health Institute – KTL – Department of Environmental Health in Kuopio, Finland, received his MSME in 1972 at the Tampere University of Technology in Finland, MSEE in 1976 and Ph.D. in 1978 at the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill in the US. He is a founding member of the International Society for Indoor Air Quality (ISIAQ) and an active member and former president (2000-2001) of ISEA.
Prof. Jantunen is best qualified to speak on air pollution exposures, exposure monitoring and modeling methods, and the application of exposure science for air pollution risk assessment and risk management. His main interests focus on exposures derived from indoor and traffic sources, and exposures and related health risks from fine particulate matter. Prof Jantunen has served as an expert to the WHO, the EU and the U.S. EPA, and he has been invited to give plenary lectures and keynote talks at numerous conferences. Dr. Jantunen has authored and coauthored more than 400 scientific publications.
Dr. Larry L. Needham (Term 2005-2007)
Dr. Larry Needham is Chief of the Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch in the National Center for Environmental Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His work has involved developing and applying analytical methods for assessing human exposures, via biomonitoring, to environmental chemicals, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), perfluorinated chemicals, non-persistent organic chemicals (e.g., pesticides, phthalates, alkylphenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phytoestrogens, volatile organic chemicals, chemicals of mass destruction), and heavy metals. His group is responsible for almost all of the analytical data in CDC’ biannual National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (www.cdc.gov/exposurereport). In addition they collaborate with investigators both domestically and internationally on epidemiological studies involving the relations between human exposures to environmental chemicals and potential adverse health outcomes. Dr. Needham has authored or co-authored more than 400 scientific publications.
Dr. Needham is an active member of ISEA, former President (2003-2004), and the 2006 recipient of ISEA’s Wesolowski Award. In addition to ISEA, he is a permanent member of the annual Dioxin meeting’s international advisory Board and editor of Chemosphere: Persistent Organic Pollutants and Dioxins. He also regularly consults with many groups, including the National Academy of Sciences, U.S. EPA, Health Effects Research Institute. Dr. Needham received his BS from Middle Tennessee State University in 1968 and his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 1972. In his first year as an ISEA Distinguished Lecturer he spoke on applications of biomonitoring data to several academic groups and professional societies in the U.S. and in Peru.
For information about the Distinguished Lecturer program or to request a speaker, contact the Chair of the ISEA Distinguished Lecturer Committee:
Yuri Bruinen de Bruin, PhD
Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)
Postbus 1
3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Email: yuri.bruinendebruin@gmail.com