The STEEP team is pleased to welcome Charlotte Wagner, a 6th year PhD student in Elsie Sunderland’s research group at Harvard. Charlotte’s research focuses on the long-term human and ecological exposure risks of PFAS by identifying key drivers that lead to the environmental persistence of these chemicals. PFAS are commonly transported over long distances in the environment and have been shown to accumulate in the ocean. Charlotte studies how biogeochemical processes and environmental changes affect the fate of PFAS released to the environment. She combines models and measurements to better understand environmental releases, distribution and removal processes at a global scale. Using PFOS as a case study, she also considers geographical shifts in use and production and the impact of regulation on the accumulation of PFAS in the environment.

Before coming to Harvard, Charlotte worked for several years as a Science Editor, communicating science on health risks arising from chemicals used in food packaging with policy makers, industry and other stakeholders in the European Union. She holds a BA from Maastricht University in Political Science and Environmental Policy, a MSc in Environmental Health from the Cyprus University of Technology.