Nicholas Chartres

Background

About Nicholas Chartres

Over the last three and half years I have been working at the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE), University of California, San Francisco. The Program is housed in one of the most prestigious medical centers in the US, ranked in the top 5 universities in the country for education, research and patient care. I led a highly impactful Science and Policy team made up of Research Scientists, Science Associates and consultants. My work has focused on monitoring and analyzing federal, state, and local chemical policy, including the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the law that evaluates and regulates industrial chemicals used in U.S. commerce, including several petrochemicals used to make plastics. My work has been at the intersection of research, chemical risk assessment and policy, so I have met with Congressional offices in DC, and with U.S EPA leadership regularly to communicate my research. I have written extensive public comments, provided oral testimony and published analyses on how U.S EPA has failed to use the best available science when conducting risk assessments resulting in systematic underestimations of risk for chemicals evaluated under TSCA, and developed specific recommendations for improving its implementation to ensure equitable, socially just safeguards to public health. I have extensive experience in the use of systematic review methods and will continue to lead PRHE’s work in disseminating and implementing these methods to improve evidence evaluation in the environmental health sciences and ensure the best available science is used for policy decision making. As the lead author of the first in-depth study on how industry sponsorship influences nutrition research, I am an expert in identifying and analysing industry influence and developing methods to reduce industry bias in the research process. My program of work at The University of Sydney will identify, track, and disseminate empirical evidence on how national and transnational corporations that produce health harming products, including chemicals, fossil fuels, sugar, guns, pharmaceuticals/opioids, and tobacco manipulates science for financial benefit and influences the policy process, undermining health and health equity. Twitter @NickZChartres Email nicholas.chartres@sydney.edu.au Read About My Research