Leena Nylander-French

Leena Nylander-French, PhD, CIH, is Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and holds an appointment in the Curriculum in Toxicology & Environmental Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine. She directs the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center (NC OSHERC) and the Occupational Exposure Science and Industrial Hygiene Program.

Education

• Postdoctoral Program, Exposure Assessment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996
• PhD, Occupational and Industrial Hygiene, Royal Institute of Technology, 1994
• MSc, Environmental Hygiene, University of Kuopio, 1987
• BSc, Environmental Hygiene, University of Kuopio, 1986

Research Focus

Dr. Nylander-French’s research integrates exposure science, toxicology, and epidemiology to understand how dermal and inhalation exposures to hazardous agents contribute to disease risk. Her laboratory pioneered quantitative methods to measure skin and inhalation exposures and developed sophisticated mathematical, statistical, and toxicokinetic exposure-modeling tools. Current projects investigate gene-environment interactions by examining how individual genetic and epigenetic differences modify biomarker levels after xenobiotic exposure, with the ultimate goal of identifying susceptible sub-populations and improving occupational health protection strategies.

Awards and Honors

• Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH #6003)
• Kenan Research and Scholarly Faculty Leave, UNC (2013)
• Best Paper Award, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (2011)
• Special Emphasis Research Career Award (SERCA), CDC/NIOSH (1998)
• Swedish Work Environment Fund Award (1992)
• Finnish Society for Promotion of Occupational Health Award (1991)
• Finnish Occupational Hygiene Society Award (1991)
• Finnish Work Environment Fund Award (1990)

Leadership & Service

• Deputy Editor, American Journal of Industrial Medicine (2019–Present)
• Member, Biological Exposure Indices Committee, ACGIH (2000–Present)
• Member, NORA Immune, Infectious and Dermal Disease Prevention Cross-Sector Council, CDC/NIOSH (2016–Present)
• Study Section Member, Safety and Occupational Health Study Section, CDC/NIOSH

Dr. Nylander-French teaches graduate courses including Biological Monitoring in Exposure Assessment (ENVR 770), Health Effects of Environmental Agents (ENVR 430), and Industrial Toxicology (ENVR 423). Her laboratory continues to develop novel dermal and inhalation sampling techniques, refine PBTK models, and advance understanding of epigenetic modifications following toxicant exposures.