Wendy Heiger-Bernays

Faculty Associate
Faculty Research Fellow (2016-2019)
Associate Professor, Environmental Health
whb@bu.edu
617-638-4620

Education

PhD, University of Nebraska; BS, University of Connecticut

Biography

Wendy Heiger-Bernays is on the faculty of the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Her work reflects her education in molecular toxicology and her professional experience in regulatory toxicology and risk assessment. Her interests center on understanding how environmental hazards adversely affect people’s health and how risks associated with these exposures can be quantified and decreased. As part of the Research Translation Core of the Boston University Superfund Research Program, she works with the scientific projects leads and regulatory environmental and health organization to use the science to inform policy and practice. She collaborates with other researchers to understand patterns of migration of contaminants in municipal compost and soils in urban gardens and risks associated with these agents, with the objective of translating this research into cost-effective best practices. As a member of a multi-disciplinary team she is investigating the properties that impact human health and that limit the installation of on-shore large wind-turbines. Heiger-Bernays is a member of the BUSPH team investigating flame retardants in which she is focusing on understanding the risks associated with exposure to the chemicals. She also serves on technical advisory committees for toxicological and environmental health issues at both the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the US Environmental Protection Agency and as Chair of her local board of health.