Jennifer McPartland

Senior Scientist, Health Program

Areas of expertise: Health Programs, chemical safety

Work

As a senior scientist in the health program at Environmental Defense Fund, Dr. Jennifer McPartland focuses on advancing science, policy, and market solutions to protect human health and the environment from harmful chemical exposures. Dr. McPartland leads EDF’s engagement in federal efforts to advance new chemical testing approaches and apply systematic review methodologies in chemical assessments.

Jennifer also serves as the technical advisor for EDF’s corporate partnerships related to chemicals in the marketplace and in this capacity has worked with businesses to develop corporate chemical policies and management frameworks. She also leads EDF’s work in chemical alternatives assessment and supports EDF’s legislative and regulatory work related to the Toxics Substances Control Act.

Throughout all of her work, Jennifer engages and collaborates with a diversity of groups including business, academia, government and NGOs. She currently serves as a member of the U.S. EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors Chemical Safety for Sustainability Subcommittee and of the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals steering committee.

Background

Before her arrival at EDF, Jennifer was the 2009-2010 American Society for Microbiology/American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional Fellow working in the office of Congresswoman Diana DeGette. While in the DeGette office she focused primarily on health and consumer issues ranging from direct-to-consumer genetic testing and food safety to chemicals policy reform.

Prior to entering the policy realm, Dr. McPartland earned her PhD, and was a postdoctoral researcher, at the University of Chicago where she pursued research in the field of molecular biology using bacteriophage as a model organism to study protein functions and interactions.

Jennifer received a BS in chemistry with a specialization in biochemistry from the University of Virginia, where she conducted cancer focused research in both academic and private research labs.