EPA Appoints New Members to the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel
Released on August 21, 2024
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has appointed a new chair and two new members and reappointed two current members to serve on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP).
The FIFRA SAP provides independent scientific advice, information, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides and pesticide related issues. The FIFRA SAP was established in 1975 and is composed of a permanent panel of seven scientists appointed by the EPA Administrator to serve staggered terms of three to six years. These experts are appointed from a pool of candidates provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The FIFRA SAP is supported by members of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Science Review Board (SRB).
In November 2023, EPA requested nominations from NIH and NSF to fill vacancies on the FIFRA SAP due to expiring terms. Specifically, the Agency requested nationally recognized experts in the following fields: ecological and human exposure assessment, mathematical biostatistics, new approach methodologies (NAMs), and toxicology. NIH and NSF provided EPA with 39 nominees, of whom 12 were interested and available to participate.
EPA seeks to achieve a breadth and balance of different scientific perspectives on the Panel. Candidates were selected based on their professional qualifications, including training and experience, as well as the collective expertise and experience needed to address EPA's prospective charges to the Panel. EPA also evaluated the candidates' financial disclosure information to assess whether there were financial conflicts of interest, appearance of a loss of impartiality, or any prior involvement with the development of the documents under consideration (including previous scientific peer review) before the candidate is considered further for selection and service on the FIFRA SAP.
A list of all current members and their biographies can be found on the FIFRA SAP website.
For further information, please contact Tamue L. Gibson, MS, Executive Secretary of the FIFRA SAP, at gibson.tamue@epa.gov.