2026 PFAS Summit

PFAS Exposure and Patient Health

The second annual PFAS Summit, “PFAS Exposure and Patient Health,” was held by the Delaware Academy of Medicine and Public Health, the Delaware Division of Public Health, and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm ET.

Presentations

Welcome and Introductions
Kate Smith, MD, MPH
Executive Director, Delaware Academy of Medicine & Public Health

***

What are PFAS? Pathways of Exposure (PDF | Video)

Laurel Schaider, PhD

Dr. Laurel Schaider is a Senior Scientist in Environmental Chemistry and Engineering at Silent Spring Institute. She studies exposures to PFAS “forever chemicals” from drinking water, diet, and consumer products and how PFAS can affect human health. She works with communities to develop research studies and resources to address their concerns about chemical exposures. Dr. Schaider leads the Massachusetts PFAS and Your Health Study, part of the broader PFAS Multi-site Study funded by the CDC in impacted communities across the US. She also leads the PFAS-REACH study and co-leads the Community Engagement Core for the University of Rhode Island STEEP Superfund Research Program. She has been interviewed by NPR, The Washington Post, and other major news outlets, and testified in front of a Senate subcommittee in December 2024. Before joining Silent Spring Institute, she was a research associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Schaider earned her master’s and PhD in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering Science from MIT.

Phil Brown, PhD

Phil Brown is University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences at Northeastern University, where he directs the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute and co-directs the PFAS Project Lab. His work on PFAS examines activism, governance, policy, mapping of contaminated sites and potential exposure locations, water monitoring, immunotoxic effects, and economic costs. He directs an NIEHS T32 training program, “Transdisciplinary Training at the Intersection of Environmental Health and Social Science.” He is the  co-director of the Community Engagement Core of Northeastern’s Superfund Research Program (PROTECT).

Other Links:

***

How Maine is Taking Action: Public Health Support for PFAS Blood Testing (PDF | Video)

Emily Pennoyer, PhD, MPH

Emily Pennoyer is a toxicologist at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. She holds a PhD in Environmental Health from the Boston University School of Public Health, where her research focused on measuring PFAS in people and understanding sources of exposure. Her current work focuses on understanding how people are exposed to PFAS in agricultural communities, including through the consumption of animal products, wild-caught fish, and game. She also works on developing health-based soil screening levels to help protect farm workers from environmental exposures. Emily is the lead toxicologist for Maine’s statewide public health oversight for PFAS blood testing, a program established and funded by the Maine legislature to support PFAS surveillance, case investigations, and public health communication and outreach. Her work brings together environmental health research and public health practice to identify sources of PFAS exposure and translate that information into practical guidance to help people understand and reduce their exposures.

Other Links:

Panel Discussion

(Video)

Variation in Bioaccumulation and Persistence from Community Exposures (PDF)

Carla Ng, PhD

Dr. Carla Ng is a Professor and Fulton C. Noss Faculty Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, with secondary appointments in Environmental and Occupational Health and in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.  She received her PhD in Chemical & Biological Engineering from Northwestern University in 2008. Her research focuses on the development of computational and in vitro approaches to evaluate the fate and effects of legacy and emerging chemicals in organisms and ecosystems, with a particular focus on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Through interdisciplinary, cross-sector collaborations her group works to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in products and processes to protect public and ecosystem health.

Recent Scientific Findings (PDF)

Jamie DeWitt, PhD

Jamie DeWitt is a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology and Director of the Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Environmental Health Research at Oregon State University. Her research explores the effects of exposure to environmental contaminants on the immune system with a focus on the adaptive immune system. Her work with PFAS has established that some PFAS are able to suppress the ability of the immune system to make specific antibodies.

Lasting Impacts of PFAS from Childhood Exposure (PDF)

Sue Fenton, PhD, MS

Sue Felton is the Director of the NIEHS P30 Center for Human Health and the Environment and a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, at NC State University. She earned her BS, MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin, followed by postdoctoral training at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She has 25 years combined experience as a Reproductive Endocrinologist at the US EPA and the NIEHS, characterizing mechanisms underlying reproductive and developmental toxicities. Dr. Fenton has been studying the developmental health effects triggered by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for the last 20 years. Her work with various high use chemicals has defined critical windows of exposure in mammary glands leading to pubertal and lactational impairment, breast cancer risk, and sex-specific later life health effects in offspring such as metabolic disease and fatty liver. By integrating molecular, phenotypic, and exposure data, her team has uncovered biological pathways linking environmental exposures to adverse health outcomes across life stages.

***

A Bridge from Science to Action (PDF | Video)

Melissa Walter, MPH, RDN, LDN

Ms. Walter is Adjunct Faculty and a Program Coordinator at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s MPH in Nutrition and Dietetics program, where she also teaches a foodservice management course grounded in food justice and equity. She is an Ed.D. candidate in Educational Leadership at UNC Wilmington and serves as Communications Chair on the Board of Directors of World Critical Dietetics. Her work sits at the intersection of nutrition, public health, and environmental justice, with a current focus on PFAS contamination and its implications for dietary counseling and public health.

Other Links:

***

Final Q&A and Closing Remarks (PDF | Video)

Kayla Pryor

Kayla Pryor is an Environmental Scientist with the State of Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services in the Office of Environmental Hazards and Toxicology. She has a master’s degree in environmental science (marine science track) and bachelor’s degree in biology with minors in Earth Science and Chemistry. Her professional and research experience involves GIS data analysis, grant management, water quality monitoring, and climate resiliency. When she is not working, you can catch her boating, crafting, or caring for her menagerie of pets.

Amanda Lacklen

Amanda is the Senior Environmental Scientist IV for the Office of Environmental Hazards and Toxicology for the State of Delaware, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Division of Public Health (DPH), within Health Systems Protection Section. Amanda leads a team of junior scientists, manages a multitude of projects simultaneously, and keeps up with evolving, imperfect information to protect public health as efficiently as possible. Amanda sits on the State of Delaware’s PFAS Strategic Planning Committee. In her free time, she enjoys growing sweet potatoes, loofah sponges, and a plethora of fruits and veggies. Amanda has three fur-babies, Django, Roo, and Mr. Fitzgerald.

Other Links:

***

Continuing Education

The Medical Society of Delaware designated this live activity for a maximum of 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Medical Society of Delaware and Delaware Academy of Medicine and Public Health. The Medical Society of Delaware is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
It is the policy of the Medical Society of Delaware (MSD) to comply with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education (CME). In keeping with these standards, all faculty participating in continuing medical education provided by MSD are expected to disclose to the activity audience any relevant financial relationships.
Joint providership of CME by MSD in no way implies endorsement of any product or service. This activity is not supported by commercial funding.