Special Interview with Dr. Thomas A. Burke
On November 22, 2024, the Editorial Office of Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment (JEEA) had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Thomas A. Burke, Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. Dr. Burke is a leading authority in environmental health and exposure science.
During the interview, he reflected on how his early experiences growing up in an industrial city and his personal health history sparked his lifelong commitment to understanding how environmental exposures affect human health. He emphasized that accurate exposure assessment is the foundation of environmental epidemiology, enabling the comparison of health risks between exposed and unexposed populations.
Dr. Burke discussed the complexity of human exposures---arising from multiple sources such as air, water, food, and indoor environments---and highlighted the urgent need for a systems-based, multidisciplinary approach to assess cumulative and mixed exposures. Looking ahead, he believes that artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and global data-sharing will revolutionize exposure science by integrating vast and diverse datasets to better identify at-risk populations and inform prevention strategies. He also underscored the importance of biomonitoring, indoor environment studies, and climate-related exposure research, as well as improving risk communication to make scientific findings more accessible to the public.
Finally, Dr. Burke encouraged young researchers to remain passionate and collaborative. He stressed that strong mentorship, interdisciplinary cooperation, and sustained research funding are essential for advancing the field and safeguarding public health worldwide.
Watch the video for Dr. Thomas A. Burke's expert insights:
Interview Questions:
1. Could you share what inspired your interest in environmental exposure assessment?
2. How do you view the core role of environmental exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology? What do you think are the main challenges in revealing the long-term impact of environmental exposure on human health?
3. Your research involves the assessment of human exposure to different environmental pollutants. In your opinion, what sources of exposure have been underexplored and how might their potential health impacts be underestimated? Have you encountered risk assessment of environmental chemical pollutants that are difficult to quantify or evaluate, and how do you deal with these challenges?
4. In your opinion, how can young researchers maintain long-term enthusiasm for scientific research? What factors are the most critical?
5. Looking to the future, what impact do you think new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data will have on research methods and policy applications in environmental exposure assessment? What challenges do you foresee in assessing human exposure to environmental chemical pollutants?
6. In your opinion, which current hot topics or cutting-edge research areas should JEEA focus on more closely? What practical suggestions do you have for attracting manuscripts in these areas?
About Dr. Thomas A. Burke:
Dr. Thomas A. Burke is Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. A leading authority in environmental health and exposure science, he has dedicated his career to advancing understanding of how environmental contaminants affect human health and to improving risk assessment and public health policy. Dr. Burke previously served as Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He has authored numerous influential publications on risk assessment, cumulative exposure, and environmental justice, and his work has profoundly shaped national and international approaches to environmental health protection.
Editor: Tracy Sun
Language Editor: Catherine Yang
Production Editor: Ting Xu
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment
