Research Interests
Air Pollution. Human exposures to air pollution, Indoor air pollution, Paint emissions, Emissions of climate altering pollutant species, Health co-benefits
Current Projects/Studies
Dr Edwards was awarded the 2009 Joan M. Daisey Outstanding Young Scientist Award by the International Society of Exposure Science. Dr. Edwards has over 20 years of experience in conducting laboratory and field based studies into human exposure to air pollution and subsequent health effects. These include populations in the industrialized world exposed to combustion byproducts from transportation, wildfires and tobacco smoke, and populations in less industrialized nations exposed to emissions from household solid fuel use for cooking and space heating. Dr Edwards was a member of the WHO Indoor Air Quality Guidelines Development Group (GDG) to establish air quality guidelines for household combustion sources, and was lead convening author for the evidence chapter on emissions from household solid fuel use, and a lead author for the chapter on models to link household energy use with indoor air quality. Dr Edwards was also consultant to the WHO to develop the Household Energy Assessment Rapid Tool (HEART) to conduct rapid situational assessments and stakeholder mapping of a country’s readiness to address access to clean energy technologies and has worked with the WHO Urban Health Initiative to identify evidence based strategies to reduce the burden of air pollution in Accra, Ghana, and Katmandu, Nepal. More recently he has served as air pollution consultant to the WHO regional office for South East Asia. Dr Edwards has been a consultant to UNICEF Mongolia, Kosovo, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan to address effects of air pollution from rapid urbanization on children’s health, and as air pollution consultant to the Asia Development Bank and the Swiss Center for International Health.
Education
Ph.D., Rutgers and UMDNJ, Joint Degree, 1999, Exposure Measurement and Assessment
M.S., Rutgers University, 1995, Environmental Sciences
Honors and Awards
Dr Edwards was awarded the 2009 Joan M. Daisey Outstanding Young Scientist Award by the International Society of Exposure Science.
