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Paul Anastas

The Office of the Science Advisor (OSA), led by the Agency Science Advisor Paul Anastas, Ph.D, provides leadership and serves as an honest broker for cross-Agency science and technology (S&T) policy to facilitate the integration of the highest quality S&T into the Agency’s policies and decisions. This work is accomplished through intra- and inter-agency networks that draw on the expertise of scientists, engineers and policy advisors in the EPA Program and Regional Offices.

OSA supports the Science Advisor in his key responsibilities:

  1. Advising the EPA Administrator on S&T issues;
  2. Holding a corporate view and coordinating cross-Agency S&T policy issues;
  3. Resolving conflicts on science and science policy;
  4. Providing vision on S&T and advancing emerging issues; and
  5. Serving as the face and spokesperson for Agency science as a whole.

Programs and projects managed by the Office of the Science Advisor:

Scientific Integrity - EPA adheres to the following Principles of Scientific Integrity (EPA Principles of Scientific Integrity (PDF)(1 pp, 56Kb, About PDF)). EPA is developing and implementing policies to further strengthen scientific integrity at the Agency (EPA Response to the December 2010 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum on Scientific Integrity (PDF) (11 pp, 6.75Mb, About PDF)). EPA has developed a draft Agency-wide Scientific Integrity Policy (EPA's draft Scientific Integrity Policy August 2011 (PDF) (12 pp, 143K, About PDF)) and welcomes public comment. The draft Policy addresses the promotion of scientific ethical standards, including quality standards; communications with the public; the use of advisory committees and peer review; and professional development, as well as the roles and responsibilities of a new Scientific Integrity Committee (PDF) (2 pp, 63K, About PDF). A draft charter for the new Scientific Integrity committee has also been developed (PDF) (4 pp, 102K, About PDF). Comments on the draft policy and draft committee charter should be sent to: OSA Staff (osa.staff@epa.gov).

Science and Technology Policy Council - The Science Advisor chairs the Agency's Science and Technology Policy Council, which reviews selected science issues that have implications across Program and Regional offices. Current priorities include identifying ways to institutionalize the principles of sustainability into EPA’s programmatic work, driving technology innovation to solve discrete environmental and health problems, and creating community-relevant actions to help communities understand potential short- and long-term risks from exposures to multiple pollutants.

Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling - The Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling promotes consistency and consensus among environmental model developers and users.

Forum on Environmental Measurements - The Forum on Environmental Measurements works to develop policies to guide the Agency’s measurement community in: validating and disseminating methods for sample collection and analysis; ensuring that monitoring studies are scientifically rigorous, statistically sound, and yield representative measurements; and employing a quality systems approach that ensures that the data gathered and used by the Agency is of known and documented quality. The Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board also provides recommendations to EPA.

Global Earth Observation System of Systems - The Global Earth Observation System of Systems mission is a mechanism to provide decision makers with scientific information that can advance societal benefit areas including human health, ecosystems, climate change and air and water quality.

Program in Human Research Ethics - The Program in Human Research Ethics has two components, the Human Subjects Research Review Official and the Human Studies Review Board. These two components work together to support the ethical conduct and regulatory compliance of human subjects research conducted, supported, or regulated by EPA. The Program in Human Research Ethics provides direct regulatory oversight of human subjects research conducted or supported by the Agency and supports the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs in its regulatory oversight of third-party human subjects research for pesticides.

Risk Assessment Forum - The Risk Assessment Forum mission promotes consensus on risk assessment issues and develops Agency risk assessment guidance.

 

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