George Gray

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Bio

In both academic and policymaking settings, Professor Gray has long been committed to the effective use of science to inform public health choices, and emphasizes the importance of communicating those choices effectively to citizens, journalists, and lawmakers. Risk analysis, including the tradeoffs that must be made when risks exist on both sides of a decision, has been a core component of that work.

Prior to joining the Milken Institute School of Public Health in 2010, Professor Gray served as assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Research and Development and as the agency science advisor, promoting scientific excellence in EPA research, advocating for the continuing evolution of the agency's approach to analysis, and encouraging programs that provide academic research to support EPA's mission. His areas of focus included nanotechnology, ecosystem research, the influence of toxicology advances on testing and risk assessment, and sustainability.

From 2001 to 2005, Professor Gray was executive director of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, and a member of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health. In addition to teaching, he applied the tools of risk analysis to public health problems ranging from mad cow disease to pesticides in food to the risks and benefits of fish consumption.

Expertise

Expertise:

Risk Assessment, Management and Communication

Education:

Bachelor of Science (Biology), University of Michigan, 1985

Master of Science (Toxicology), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 1988

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 1989

Community Service:

During his government service Professor Gray served on several committees of the National Science and Technology Council and co-chaired the National Nanotechnology Environmental Health Initiative. He is Past President and a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis and has served on several task forces for the Society of Toxicology. He has served on scientific advisory committees for the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. He is currently a member of the Board on Environmental Science and Toxicology of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Research

Research:

Dr. Gray's primary research interests center around risk characterization, risk communication, and risk policy. He has published on the scientific bases of human health risk assessment, and the ways in which policy considerations influence the risks addressed by regulatory agencies.

Publications

Publications:

Kratchman, J., Wang, B., Fox, J. and Gray, G. (2017) Correlation of Non-Cancer Benchmark Doses in Short and Long-Term Rodent Bioassays. Risk Analysis (in press)

Dudley, S., Belzer, R., Blomquist, G., Brennan, T, Carrigan, C., Cordes, J., Cox, L., Fraas. A., Graham, J., Gray, G., Hammitt, J., Krutilla, K., Linquiti, P., Lutter, R., Mannix, B., Shapiro, S., Smith, A., Viscusi, K. and Zerbe, R. (2017) Consumer’s Guide to Regulatory Impact Analysis: Ten Tips for Being an Informed Policymaker. Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis (in press)

Holman, E., Francis, R. and Gray, G (2016) Comparing Non-cancer Chronic Human Health Reference Values: An Analysis of Science Policy Choices. Risk Analysis 37:861-878

Holman, E., Francis, R. and Gray, G (2016) Quantitative Evaluation of Choices Used in Setting Non-Cancer Chronic Human Health Reference Values Across Organizations. Risk Analysis 37:879-892

Stephens, M.L., Betts, K., Beck, N.B., Colgliano, B., Dickersin, K., Fitzpatrick,S., Freeman, J., Gray, G., Hartung, T., McPartland, J., Rooney, A.A., Scherer, R.W., Verloo, D., and Hoffmann, S. (2016) The Emergence of Systematic Review in Toxicology. Toxicological Sciences 152:10-16

Applebaum, K.M., Graham, J., Gray, G.M., LaPuma, P., McCormick, S.A., Northcross, A., and Perry, M.J. (2016) An Overview of Occupational Health Risks from Climate Change. Current Environmental Health Reports 3:13-22

Beck, N.B., Becker, R.A., Erraguntla, N., Farland, W.H., Grant, R.L., Gray, G., Kirman, C., LaKind, J.S., Lewis, R.J., Nance, P., Pottenger, L.H., Santos, S.L., Shirley, S., Simon, T., and Dourson, M.L. (2016) Approaches for Describing and Communicating Overall Uncertainty in Toxicity Characterizations: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) as a Case Study. Environment International 89–90: 110–128

Figueroa, Z.I., Young, H.A., Meeker, J.D., Martenies, S.E., Barr, D.B., Gray, G., and Perry, M.J. (2015) Dialkyl phosphate urinary metabolites and chromosomal abnormalities in human sperm. Environmental Research 143:256-265

Wang, B. and Gray, G. (2015) Concordance of Non-Carcinogenic Endpoints in Rodent Chemical Bioassays. Risk Analysis 35:1154-1166

Lutter, R., Abbott, L., Becker, R., Borgert, C., Bradely, A., Charnley, G., Dudley, S., Felsot, A, Golden, N., Gray, G., Juberg, D., Mitchell, M., Rachman, N., Rhomberg, L., Solomon, K., Sundlof, S., and Willet, K. (2015) Improving Weight of Evidence Approaches to Chemical Evaluations. Risk Analysis 35:186-192

Scanlon, K.A., Lloyd, S.M., Gray, G.M., Francis, R.A. and LaPuma, P (2015) An Approach to integrating Occupational Safety and Health into Life Cycle Assessment: Development and Application of Work Environment Characterization Factors. Journal of Industrial Ecology 19:27-37

Setting pesticide reference doses: A retrospective analysis examining key data and choices.
Holman, E., Gray, G. (2014). Setting pesticide reference doses: A retrospective analysis examining key data and choices. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 20(6), 1550-1564.

Workshop report: strategies for setting occupational exposure limits for engineered nanomaterials.
Gordon, S.C., Butala, J.H., Carter, J.M., Elder, A., Gordon, T., Gray, G., Sayre, P.G., Schulte, P.A. Tsai, C.S., West, J. Workshop report: strategies for setting occupational exposure limits for engineered nanomaterials. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 2014 68(3), 305-11.

The work environment disability-adjusted life year for use with life cycle assessment: a methodological approach
Scanlon, K.A., Gray, G.M., Francis, R.A., Lloyd, S.M., LaPuma, P. The work environment disability-adjusted life year for use with life cycle assessment: a methodological approach. Environmental Health 2013 12, 21. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-12-21

Policy: Rethink chemical risk assessments
Gray, G.M., Cohen, J.T. Policy: Rethink chemical risk assessments. Nature 2012, 489(7414):27-8. doi: 10.1038/489027a.

Hormesis in Regulatory risk assessment - Science and Science Policy
Gray G. Hormesis in Regulatory risk assessment - Science and Science Policy. Dose Response. 2011;9(2):158-64. Epub 2010 Nov 4.

Beef, Hormones and Mad Cows
Gray G. Beef, Hormones and Mad Cows. In: Weiner JB, Rogers MD, Hammitt JK, Sand PH, eds. The Reality of Precaution: Comparing Risk Regulation in the United States and Europe. RFF Press, 2010.

Dioxin Toxicity
Gray G. Dioxin Toxicity [letter]. Risk Anal. 2010 Oct;30(10):1457-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01504.x.

US Environmental Protection Agency uses operations research to reduce contamination risks in drinking water
Murray R, Hart WE, Phillips CA, Berry J., et al. US Environmental Protection Agency uses operations research to reduce contamination risks in drinking water. Interfaces 2009;39:57-68.

Toxicology: Transforming environmental health protection
Collins FS, Gray GM, Bucher JR. Toxicology: Transforming environmental health protection. Science 2008 Feb 15;319:906-7.

What do we learn from emissions reporting? Analytical considerations and comparison of pollutant release and transfer registers in the United States, Canada, England, and Australia.
Kerret D, Gray GM. What do we learn from emissions reporting? Analytical considerations and comparison of pollutant release and transfer registers in the United States, Canada, England, and Australia. Risk Anal 2007 Feb 1;27 (1):203-23.

Measured concentrations of VOCs in several non-residential microenvironments in the United States.
Loh MM, Houseman EA, Gray GM, Levy JI, et al. Measured concentrations of VOCs in several non-residential microenvironments in the United States. Environ Sci Technol 2006 Nov 15:40 (22);6903-11.

A quantitative analysis of fish consumption and stroke risk.
Bouzan C, Cohen JT, Connor WE, Kris-Etherton PM, et al. A quantitative analysis of fish consumption and stroke risk. Am J Prev Med 2005 Nov 1; 29 (4):347-52.

A quantitative analysis of fish consumption and coronary heart disease mortality
König A, Bouzan C, Cohen JT, Connor WE, et al. A quantitative analysis of fish consumption and coronary heart disease mortality. Am J Prev Med 2005 Nov 1; 29 (4):335-46.

A quantitative risk-benefit analysis of changes in population fish consumption.
Cohen JT, Bellinger D, Connor WE, Kris-Etherton PM, et al. A quantitative risk-benefit analysis of changes in population fish consumption. Am J Prev Med 2005 Nov 1; 29 (4):325-34.

Web 2019 Update - CSS

George

Gray, PhD

Professor

George Gray

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