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EPA Researchers @ Work
Science forms the foundation of everything EPA does. It provides the information, tools, and innovations the Agency needs to meet its mission to protect human health and the environment. Behind that work are EPA scientists and engineers who explore the complex interrelationships between people and our environment. Click on the links below to meet some of our scientists, see how they got started in their careers, and learn about the important work they do.

EPA Researchers @ Work

Science forms the foundation of everything EPA does. It provides the information, tools, and innovations the Agency needs to meet its mission to protect human health and the environment.

Behind that work are EPA scientists and engineers who explore the complex interrelationships between people and our environment. Click on the links below to meet some of our scientists, see how they got started in their careers, and learn about the important work they do.

EPA Scientist Profiles
Meet EPA Biologist Mitch Kostich, Ph.D. - EPA biologist, Mitch Kostich, Ph.D., conducts research to identify risks from exposures to chemical contaminants in water. His research uses technologies from the fields of molecular biology, genomics , analytical chemistry, environmental modeling, and machine learning to prioritize contaminants in the environment based on the potential risks they pose to humans and aquatic life. In his spare time, Dr. Kostich brews ale, tends to his garden, and fishes with a straight hook. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Scientist, Robert Devlin, Ph.D. - EPA scientist Dr. Robert Devlin's main research interest is understanding the human health effects of air pollution. His research is used to characterize the effects that inhaled substances, such as air pollutants, have on human pulmonary (related to lungs and breathing) and cardiovascular (heart, lungs, and blood flow) health, and the physiological changes responsible for those effects. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Chemist, Quincy Teng, Ph.D. - Dr. Teng focuses on the application of metabolomics—a relatively new, specialized field focused on small molecules known as metabolites—on environmental and life sciences. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Scientist Dermont Bouchard, Ph.D. - EPA Scientist Dermont Bouchard, Ph.D. is working to advance the understanding of how tiny nanomaterials might be released into the environment. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Microbiologist Eric Villegas, Ph.D. - Dr. Villegas is a research microbiologist whose recent work focuses on developing a better understanding of the risks associated with waterborne parasites. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Chemist Mark Strynar, Ph.D. - Dr. Mark Strynar's research interests include developing methods to measure and analyze the movement and fate of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and other chemicals in living organisms and the environment. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Ecologist Paul Mayer, Ph.D. - EPA ecologist Paul Mayer, Ph.D. works in the Groundwater and Ecosystem Restoration division where he studies riparian zones and stream restoration. Dr. Mayer has also worked as a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Hydrologist Bill Shuster, Ph.D. - As a research hydrologist, EPA's Dr. Bill Shuster conducts interdisciplinary studies that integrate elements of hydrology, soil science, ecology, economics, and law to develop stormwater and wastewater management techniques. His current work involves the design and testing of "green infrastructure" approaches to urban stormwater management. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Scientist Swinburne A.J. (Jason) Augustine, Ph.D - Swinburne A. J. (Jason) Augustine, Ph.D. is a research microbiologist/Immunologist developing and applying rapid, cost-effective ways to determine and measure exposures to environmental pathogens. A member of the American Association of Immunologists and the American Society for Microbiology, Dr. Augustine also served in the U.S. Army. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Scientist Heriberto Cabezas, Ph.D. - Heriberto Cabezas, Ph.D. is currently the Senior Science Advisor to the Sustainable Technology Division in EPA's National Risk Management Research Lab, where he works to advance the scientific understanding, development, and application of science and technologies to address a variety of areas related to sustainability. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Developmental Systems Biologist Thomas Knudsen, Ph.D. - Dr. Tom Knudsen is a developmental systems biologist at EPA's Center for Computational Toxicology, where his research focuses on developmental toxicity, building and testing sophisticated computer models such as the Virtual Embryo Project. This effort explores the potential for chemicals to disrupt prenatal development—one of the most important lifestages. Read the interview.
Meet EPA chemist Ana Rivera-Lupiáñez - Ana Rivera-Lupiáñez is a chemist with EPA's Office of Pesticides Program/Health Effects Division in Washington D.C. A member of the Society of Women Engineers and the National Registry of Environmental Professionals, her work helps assess the registration and proper use of pesticides. Read the interview.
Meet EPA scientist Luz V. Garcia, M.S., M.E. - Luz V. García is a physical scientist at EPA's Division of Enforcement of Compliance Assistance. She is a four-time recipient of the EPA bronze medal, most recently in 2011 for the discovery of illegal pesticides entry at U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New York. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Scientist Mehdi S. Hazari, Ph.D. - Dr. Hazari is a recipient of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers—the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to professionals in the early stages of research careers. Through his research, he explores how breathing in low levels of air pollutants could increase people's susceptibility to heart attacks and other cardiac events. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Chemist Tina Bahadori, Ph.D. - Dr. Tina Bahadori leads EPA's Chemical Safety for Sustainability research program. She is an exposure scientist with extensive expertise developing and managing research programs that integrate exposure with health sciences. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Engineer Gayle Hagler, Ph.D. - What's in the air you breathe? Pinpointing sources of local air pollution is one of the challenges EPA environmental engineer Gayle Hagler, Ph.D, is tackling. One of her rewards for that work has been to meet the President after receiving a 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers award! Read the interview.
Meet EPA Chemist Linda Sheldon - Environmental chemist Linda Sheldon, Ph.D, studies chemical exposure risks, particularly to children. Her sons and grandchild are a big part of why she has devoted her career to studying ways to help lower the risk children face from chemicals in the environment. Read the interview.
Meet EPA Exposure Scientist Valerie Zartarian - Senior exposure scientist and research environmental engineer Valerie Zartarian, Ph.D. helps build computer models and other tools that advance our understanding of how people interact with chemicals, and provide decision makers with the information they need to make decisions that protect human health. Read the interview.