Philippe Grandjean is a distinguished scholar and leader in environmental health research with decades of influential contributions to understanding chemical impacts on human development. He currently serves as Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, a position he has held since 1982, and previously held an adjunct professorship at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2003 to 2022. Born in Denmark in 1950, Grandjean earned his medical degree from the University of Copenhagen in 1974 followed by his Doctor Medicinae degree in 1979, establishing the foundation for his pioneering career in environmental medicine. His early career included significant roles at the Danish National Institute of Occupational Health and as a Fulbright Scholar at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which shaped his dedication to investigating environmental threats to vulnerable populations.
Grandjean's research has fundamentally transformed understanding of how environmental chemicals impair child development, particularly through his extensive studies on neurotoxic substances including mercury, lead, and PFAS. His groundbreaking epidemiological research, particularly the long-term studies conducted in the Faroe Islands, has documented how prenatal exposure to industrial chemicals can cause permanent cognitive deficits in children, challenging traditional toxicology paradigms. With over 500 scientific publications, he co-founded the influential journal Environmental Health in 2002 and authored the seminal book Only One Chance: How Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development, which synthesized decades of research on chemical threats to neurological development. His work on PFAS exposure has directly informed international regulatory policies and raised global awareness about the developmental risks of these pervasive 'forever chemicals.'
As a respected thought leader, Grandjean has served on numerous prestigious advisory bodies including the European Environment Agency's scientific committee from 2012 to 2020 and the World Health Organization's European Advisory Committee on Health Research from 2011 to 2017. His contributions have been recognized with major awards including the Bernardino Ramazzini Award in 2015, the Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology Nordic Award in 2015, and the John R. Goldsmith Award from the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology in 2016. Currently leading research initiatives examining PFAS exposure effects in vulnerable populations, Grandjean continues to advance methodologies for identifying environmental threats to child development while mentoring the next generation of environmental health scientists. His ongoing work emphasizes the precautionary principle in environmental risk assessment, advocating for policy changes that protect children from irreversible neurological damage caused by chemical exposures.
