U of M Professor Recognized for Outstanding Contributions to Environmental Preservation and Public Health

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL  (June 18, 2007) -- The Minnesota Public Health Association (MPHA) has awarded Deborah L. Swackhamer, Ph.D., interim director of the University of Minnesota’s new Institute on the Environment and professor in the School of Public Health’s division of Environmental Health Sciences, the Harvey G. Rogers award for 2007.  The award was presented at the MPHA Annual Meeting on June 14, 2007, in Collegeville, Minn.

Swackhamer was honored for her dedication, distinguished service, and technical contributions to promoting public health through preservation of the environment. Her current research includes investigating the bioaccumulation, exposure, and impacts of environmental estrogenic chemicals. Previously, she studied the processes affecting the behavior and fate of persistent toxic chemicals such as PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides in the Great Lakes.

She currently serves on the Science Advisory Board and the Board of Scientific Councilors of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Science Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission of the U.S. and Canada.

Swackhamer earned a master’s degree in Water Chemistry and a doctoral degree in Limnology & Oceanography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1987 after two years of post-doctoral research in Chemistry and Public & Environmental Affairs at Indiana University.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

Contact: Liz Wulderk, Academic  Health Center, 612-624-5680
Sara E. Buss, Academic Health Center, 612-624-2449