Duke Scientist Chosen for Communication Training Program

Heather Stapleton, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment, has been selected as a Science Communication Fellow at Environmental Health Sciences (EHS), a publisher of daily environmental health issues based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Stapleton is one of ten scientists that were selected for the Fellowship and will be trained to communicate effectively with journalists and the public regarding new research findings. The training process, which begins Feb. 19, will continue over the course of the year. The Fellows will be expected to translate new research findings into short written summaries that will be published electronically for a public audience.

Environmental Health Sciences, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote public understanding of environmental health science, created the program in 2007 to help bridge the gap between breakthroughs in environmental science research and public understanding of new findings.

Stapleton, an environmental chemist and ecotoxicologist, studies organic pollutants and the effects of flame retardants. She is currently researching the effects of flame retardant chemicals on the thyroid hormone regulation of children.