Elsie M. Sunderland PhD

Dr. Elsie Sunderland is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Department of Environmental Health in the School of Public Health. Dr. Sunderland’s research group studies the biogeochemistry of global contaminants. Their work combines field research and environmental to study how the fate, transport, and bioaccumulation of heavy metals and organic contaminants affects human exposures and risks. Her research connects two areas: biogeochemical processes affecting water quality, and studies in public health that characterize toxicity mechanisms and dose-response relationships of environmental exposures. Dr. Sunderland received her bachelor of science degree from McGill University in environmental sciences and her PhD in environmental toxicology from Simon Fraser University.

Prior to joining the faculty at Harvard, she held several positions at the headquarters for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she worked on regulatory impact assessments and the development and application of models to inform regulatory decisions. Dr. Sunderland has received the EPA’s Highest Level Scientific and Technological Achievement Award and the EPA Gold Medal for Exceptional Service. She was the conference and technical co-chair for the 10th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant in 2011.