National Biomonitoring Network Steering Committee

Carin Huset, PhD, is a research scientist in the Biomonitoring and Emerging Contaminants Unit of the Environmental Chemistry Section at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Public Health Laboratory (PHL) in St. Paul. She works on the development and implementation of new analytical methods and also coordinates with PHL partners to plan, design and implement biomonitoring projects. Carin earned a BA in Chemistry from the College of St. Catherine and her PhD from the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University. She started at MDH in 2008 after postdoctoral work at the University of South Carolina.

David Balshaw, PhD, is Chief of the Exposure, Response, and Technology Branch at the National Institute of Environmental Sciences.  His doctoral work in Pharmacology and Biophysics at the University of Cincinnati was followed by postdoctoral research in Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  After completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Balshaw joined the National Institutes of Health as a Program Officer, initially at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and transferring to NIEHS in 2003.  During his time at NIEHS he has developed and overseen many of the Institute’s efforts in developing novel approaches for exposure assessment including the Exposure Biology Program and efforts to implement the exposome including the Children’s Health Exposure Analysis Resource. 

Cheryl (Cherie) Fairfield Estill, Ph.D., P.E. is the deputy Associate Director for Science for the Division of Field Studies and Engineering at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Dr. Estill has been conducting field studies in occupational environments for over 30 years at NIOSH. She holds engineering degrees from Purdue University and Virginia Tech and a doctorate in Environmental Health from the University of Cincinnati. She led the exposure assessment research team in the Field Research Branch which conducted biological monitoring research for occupations exposed to flame retardants, PFAS, bisphenol A, bromopropane, pesticides, phthalates, etc. She chaired the NIOSH Institutional Review Board for several years and coordinated the Services Sector for the National Occupational Research Agenda. Her research projects include measuring exposure to chemicals, biological hazards, noise, and musculoskeletal disorders within many industries including construction, agriculture, beauty salons, appliances, furniture stripping, electronic waste and others.

Brad Goodwin is a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service stationed at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). He has been with ATSDR for over ten years, the last five as Deputy Director for the Office of Community Health Hazard Assessment. In this role, he supports operations of the office and oversees science, policy, and communications functions and staff within the office. He also serves as an office subject matter expert on air quality monitoring and modeling, data collection efforts, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. He previously led ATSDR’s PFAS exposure assessments at sites near current or former military bases. He specializes in collection of environmental and biological data to support public health decision making. Prior to joining ATSDR, he served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and spent five years in environmental consulting working on projects related to air and water quality monitoring and health. He has a PhD in Atmospheric Science from Ohio State, an MS in Environmental Engineering from Washington University, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Washington University.

Dr. Marc A. Nascarella is a health scientist with broad training in public health, toxicology, epidemiology, and exposure science.  He currently serves as a full-time graduate faculty member at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.  His professional interests are focused on applied prevention science and how to rapidly translate the best available science into practical tools that inform policy, public health practice, and healthcare delivery. He serves as an advisor to government and non-governmental agencies on approaches to reduce the contribution of environmental contamination to human disease.  He has led initiatives focused on building capacity in underserved domestic and international communities, and served as a lead investigator on multiple large-scale biomonitoring studies in the US and abroad. Efforts have largely focused on identifying individuals in residential and occupational settings with a disproportionate burden of exposure to metals.  Other efforts include establishing regionally appropriate baseline (population-level) estimates of exposure to PCBs as well as metals and metalloids.  In addition to biomonitoring of environmental contaminants, he has conducted biomonitoring studies to characterize baseline levels of marijuana and marijuana metabolites in individuals who regularly consume regulated retail marijuana products.  Dr. Nascarella is a certified public health professional (CPH) and has previously served as the State Toxicologist for the Department of Public Health in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Jessica Reiner, PhD, is a research chemist and program coordinator in the Chemical Sciences Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). She earned her doctoral degree from the State University of New York at Albany and was an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education postdoctoral researcher at the Environmental Protection Agency. She has worked in determining chemical contaminant concentrations in sediment, water, food, biota, and humans, helping to determine potential exposure pathways, sources, distribution, and fate of these chemicals. Presently, her research is focused on the improvement of analytical measurements of chemicals of emerging concern (chlorinated, brominated, and fluorinated organic compounds) through the certification of reference materials, methods development, and other quality assurance activities.