Wendy Heiger-Bernays
Profiles

Wendy J Heiger-Bernays, PhD

Emeritus Clinical Professor, Environmental Health - Boston University School of Public Health

whb@bu.edu
View Full Profile at BUMC

Biography

Wendy Heiger-Bernays is emerita clinical professor in the Department of Environmental Health at the BU School of Public Health. She continues to apply her training in molecular toxicology to practical questions about the impact of industrial chemicals, consumer products and pharmaceuticals in water and waste streams on people’s health.

Dr. Heiger-Bernays' work focuses on technology and information transfer of the science to multiple audiences, including environmental regulatory and health agencies as well as with advocacy groups and community groups. Heiger-Bernays’ overall objective is to engage communities in their understanding and mitigation of environmental health risks.

She currently serves as a member of the USEPA Science Advisory Board, the Science Advisory Board for the Toxics Use Reduction Institute and is Chair of her local board of health. In 2015-2016, she was a AAAS Science and Technology Fellow hosted in the Office of Science Coordination and Policy at the US EPA, working in the Endocrine Disrupting Screening Program.

Education

  • University of Nebraska, PhD Field of Study: Biochemistry
  • University of Connecticut, BS Field of Study: Biology

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHEH750
  • SPHEH866
  • SPHPH510
  • SPHPH845
  • SPHPH870

Publications

  • Published on 5/22/2024

    Haley BM, Sun Y, Jagai JS, Leibler JH, Fulweiler R, Ashmore J, Wellenius GA, Heiger-Bernays W. Association between Combined Sewer Overflow Events and Gastrointestinal Illness in Massachusetts Municipalities with and without River-Sourced Drinking Water, 2014-2019. Environ Health Perspect. 2024 May; 132(5):57008. PMID: 38775485.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/15/2023

    Hall SM, Tikku V, Heiger-Bernays WJ. Potential Policy and Community Implications of Equitable Organic Waste, Compost, and Urban Agricultural Systems in the United States. Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Nov; 131(11):115001. PMID: 37966215.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/10/2023

    Friedman A, Boselli E, Ogneva-Himmelberger Y, Heiger-Bernays W, Brochu P, Burgess M, Schildroth S, Denehy A, Downs T, Papautsky I, Clauss Henn B. Manganese in residential drinking water from a community-initiated case study in Massachusetts. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2024 Jan; 34(1):58-67. PMID: 37301899.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/27/2023

    Pennoyer EH, Heiger-Bernays W, Aro R, Yeung LWY, Schlezinger JJ, Webster TF. Unknown Organofluorine Mixtures in U.S. Adult Serum:Contribution from Pharmaceuticals? Toxics. 2023 Apr 27; 11(5). PMID: 37235230.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/12/2023

    Woodruff TJ, Rayasam SDG, Axelrad DA, Koman PD, Chartres N, Bennett DH, Birnbaum LS, Brown P, Carignan CC, Cooper C, Cranor CF, Diamond ML, Franjevic S, Gartner EC, Hattis D, Hauser R, Heiger-Bernays W, Joglekar R, Lam J, Levy JI, MacRoy PM, Maffini MV, Marquez EC, Morello-Frosch R, Nachman KE, Nielsen GH, Oksas C, Abrahamsson DP, Patisaul HB, Patton S, Robinson JF, Rodgers KM, Rossi MS, Rudel RA, Sass JB, Sathyanarayana S, Schettler T, Shaffer RM, Shamasunder B, Shepard PM, Shrader-Frechette K, Solomon GM, Subra WA, Vandenberg LN, Varshavsky JR, White RF, Zarker K, Zeise L. A science-based agenda for health-protective chemical assessments and decisions: overview and consensus statement. Environ Health. 2023 Jan 12; 21(Suppl 1):132. PMID: 36635734.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/12/2023

    Nielsen GH, Heiger-Bernays WJ, Levy JI, White RF, Axelrad DA, Lam J, Chartres N, Abrahamsson DP, Rayasam SDG, Shaffer RM, Zeise L, Woodruff TJ, Ginsberg GL. Application of probabilistic methods to address variability and uncertainty in estimating risks for non-cancer health effects. Environ Health. 2023 Jan 12; 21(Suppl 1):129. PMID: 36635712.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/13/2022

    Post GB, Birnbaum LS, DeWitt JC, Goeden H, Heiger-Bernays WJ, Schlezinger JJ. Letter to the editors regarding "The conundrum of the PFOA human half-life, an international collaboration". Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2022 Oct; 134:105240. PMID: 35973622.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/21/2022

    Carlson JM, Janulewicz PA, Kleinstreuer NC, Heiger-Bernays W. Impact of High-Throughput Model Parameterization and Data Uncertainty on Thyroid-Based Toxicological Estimates for Pesticide Chemicals. Environ Sci Technol. 2022 May 03; 56(9):5620-5631. PMID: 35446564.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/2/2022

    Hammel E, Webster TF, Gurney R, Heiger-Bernays W. Implications of PFAS definitions using fluorinated pharmaceuticals. iScience. 2022 Apr 15; 25(4):104020. PMID: 35313699.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/8/2021

    Friedman A, Bauer JA, Austin C, Downs TJ, Tripodis Y, Heiger-Bernays W, White RF, Arora M, Claus Henn B. Multiple metals in children's deciduous teeth: results from a community-initiated pilot study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2022 May; 32(3):408-417. PMID: 34750512.

     Read At: PubMed

View 52 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC

News & In the Media

View all profiles