Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can affect every aspect of human life, including sexual development, neurodevelopment, and metabolic health. Scientists working to understand and address the effects of EDCs on human health sometimes face difficult choices about how to communicate the results of their work.
These choices are explored in a recent study, Words Matter: Reflective Science Communication and Tradeoffs in Environmental Health Research. This study explores the ways in which environmental health scientists can frame the results of their research, using examples drawn from the science on EDCs.
In this webinar, Dr. Kevin Elliott and Dr. Laura Vandenberg will discuss the range of ways in which scientists can present information on research findings. They will explain how a given frame can have both beneficial and harmful effects. For example, framing an EDC-related health outcome as a disease or disability can help to focus public attention on hazards of toxic chemicals and promote action to protect human health. At the same time, this framing can be used to stigmatize and harm individuals and communities. The speakers will share a range of strategies available to researchers to communicate responsibly and effectively.
Featured Speakers
Dr. Kevin C. Elliott is a Red Cedar Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University with joint appointments in MSU’s Lyman Briggs College, the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Department of Philosophy. He is a philosopher who studies the roles of social and ethical values in science and technology. Much of his scholarship is related to social issues raised by environmental pollution, and he is the author of the books Is a Little Pollution Good for You? Incorporating Societal Values in Environmental Research (Oxford University Press, 2011) and A Tapestry of Values: An Introduction to Values in Science (Oxford University Press, 2017). In addition to studying the roles of social and ethical values in environmental research, he studies conflicts of interest in research, ethical issues involving science communication, and the impacts of inclusive climates in science teams on the experiences of early-career scientists.
Dr. Laura Vandenberg is Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice Provost for Research and Engagement and Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research explores how early life exposures to chemicals and chemical mixtures can predispose individuals to diseases that manifest later in life. Her NIH-funded work addresses how low doses of chemicals during critical windows of development can alter gene expression, cell differentiation, and tissue organization in subtle ways that can lead to adult diseases such as cancer, obesity, and infertility. Her work also focuses on how traditional toxicology assays have failed to identify a number of ubiquitous endocrine disruptors, and how current risk assessment practices can be improved in the study and regulation of this class of chemicals.