Ruth A Etzel Editor

Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, is a pediatrician, epidemiologist, and internationally recognized pioneer in children's environmental health. His studies of childhood lead poisoning catalyzed the removal of lead from gasoline — an action that reduced childhood lead poisoning by 95% and has raised the IQ of children around the world. His studies on children's vulnerability to pesticides triggered passage of the Food Quality Protection Act, the only US environmental law with explicit standards protecting the health of children. He has been a leader in the US National Children's Study. Ruth A. Etzel, MD, PhD, is an internationally recognized pediatrician, environmental epidemiologist, and preventive medicine specialist. She performed the first study to document that children with secondhand exposure to tobacco smoke had measurable exposure to nicotine. Her pioneering work led to nationwide efforts to reduce indoor exposures to tobacco, including the ban on smoking in US airliners. She also produced the first research to show that exposures to toxigenic molds in the home could be dangerous to infants' health. From 2009-2012 she led the World Health Organization's activities to protect children from environmental hazards.