Linda Silber Birnbaum is an American toxicologist, microbiologist and the former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, as well as the

National Toxicology Program The National Toxicology Program (NTP) is an inter-agency program run by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate, evaluate, and report on toxicology within public agencies. The National Toxicology Program is head ...

, positions she held from January 18, 2009 until October 3, 2019. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is the public health school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and is accredited by ...

Director
NIEHS website and as a member of the editorial board of ''

Environment International ''Environment International'' is a monthly peer-reviewedopen-access scientific journal covering research in environmental science and environmental health. It was established in 1978 and is published by Elsevier. Editors-in-chief The following p ...

''.

Education

Birnbaum, a native of New Jersey, attended Benjamin Franklin Junior High School in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

, where she became interested in science because she was a cheerleader, and her cheerleading coach was also her science teacher: "I was a cheerleader, and that positive reinforcement made it okay to like science," she recalled in an interview with

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

. Birnbaum received her B.S. in biology from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

and her M.S. and PhD degrees in microbiology from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

Career

Birnbaum, prior to becoming the director of the NIEHS and NTP, worked at the National Toxicology Program as a senior staff fellow, then as a research microbiologist, and then as a group leader for the Chemical Disposition Group. Birnbaum then began a stint at the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

, where she directed the largest agency focused on environmental health research for 19 years. She has also served as the past president of the

Society of Toxicology The Society of Toxicology (SOT) is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of toxicology. Goals The SOT is committed to creating a safer and healthier world by advan ...

. After she became director of the NIEHS, she declared that she "plan to create a holistic approach that can deal with the biggies, from complex mixtures of toxic chemicals to climate change." She reiterated her commitment to addressing the

effects of global warming on human health The effects of climate change on human health are profound because they increase heat-related illnesses and deaths, respiratory diseases, and the spread of infectious diseases. There is widespread agreement among researchers, health professional ...

before the

Copenhagen Summit The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...

that November. She singled out

ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...

and

black carbon Black carbon (BC) is the light-absorbing refractory form of Chemical_element, elemental carbon remaining after pyrolysis (e.g., charcoal) or produced by incomplete combustion (e.g., soot). Tihomir Novakov originated the term black carbon in ...

as examples of pollutants with serious adverse health effects. Birnbaum retired as directory of NIEHS and NTP on October 3, 2019, but continues to perform laboratory research part-time at the institute.

Research

Birnbaum has authored over 600 peer-reviewed publications. Her research focuses on the pharmacokinetic behavior of environmental chemicals and their health effects. She is well known for her research on

endocrine disruptor Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, endocrine disrupting chemicals, or endocrine disrupting compounds are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormonal) systems. These disruptions can cause ...

s, particularly

dioxin Dioxin may refer to a number of different substances. Most notably: * 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings in which two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, which gives the molecular formula C4H4O2 ...

polychlorinated biphenyl Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula Carbon, C12Hydrogen, H10−''x''Chloride, Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectri ...

s (PCBs) and

polybrominated diphenyl ether Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, are a class of organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardants. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronic ...

s (PBDEs).

Views on endocrine disrupting chemicals

Birnbaum's position on the safety of dioxins and PCBs has been described as "in the middle", although she has expressed concern about the safety of

polybrominated diphenyl ethers Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, are a class of organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardants. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronic ...

, and contends that they may be linked to "impaired reproductive function, altered neurological development, obesity, and diabetes." She has also said that the traditional concept of a dose-response relationship may not always hold true and that some chemicals can have serious adverse effects at very low doses. However, she has also dismissed concerns about the dangers of

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...

, saying that levels of

styrene Styrene is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5CH=CH2. Its structure consists of a vinyl group as substituent on benzene. Styrene is a colorless, oily liquid, although aged samples can appear yellowish. The compound evaporates easi ...

that leach from styrofoam containers into food "are hundreds if not thousands of times lower than have occurred in the occupational setting." She has described the research about

bisphenol A Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound primarily used in the manufacturing of various plastics. It is a colourless solid which is Solubility, soluble in most common organic solvents, but has very poor solubility in water. BPA is produced on a ...

leaching out of plastic when the plastic is heated as "somewhat concerning", and has said that she no longer microwaves food in plastic. In 2013, Birnbaum published an article in ''

Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors that a ...

'' which contended that diseases that are becoming more common, such as

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, must be caused by environmental factors rather than genetic ones. This paper prompted two Republican congressmen,

Paul Broun Paul Collins Broun Jr. (born May 14, 1946) is an American physician and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Tea Party Caucus. Broun unsuccess ...

and Larry Bucshon, to write a letter to the National Institutes of Health in which they contended that some of her "statements sound less like a presentation of scientific data and more like an opinion."

Awards and honors

Birnbaum was elected to the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

in October 2010, and received the

Collegium Ramazzini The Collegium Ramazzini is an independent, international academy composed of physicians, scientists, and scholars from 35 countries. Through its members and activities, it seeks to advance occupational and environmental health by bridging scientifi ...

award. She received a Distinguished Alumna Award from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and an honorary Doctor of Science from the

, and received the Homer N. Calver Award from the

American Public Health Association The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.–based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. APHA is the largest professional organization of public health pr ...

in 2013. In 2022, she was elected a

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

References

External links

Expert Q&A: Toxicologist Linda Birnbaum on BPA

Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birnbaum, Linda University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni American toxicologists Members of the National Academy of Medicine Living people People from Teaneck, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) American women microbiologists University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty 1946 births American microbiologists University of Rochester alumni National Institutes of Health people 21st-century American biologists 21st-century American women scientists Presidents of the Society of Toxicology Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American medical researchers American women medical researchers University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni 21st-century American women civil servants