Research Interests
- Human exposure in indoor environments
- Use of silicone wristbands to measure human exposure
- Chemical exposures and cancer risk
- Targeted & Nontargeted mass spectrometry methods applied to environmental samples
- Effects of halogenated organic contaminants (e.g. BFRs, PFAS) on thyroid hormone regulation
Bio
Professor Heather Stapleton is an environmental chemist and exposure scientist in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Her research interests focus on identification of halogenated and organophosphate chemicals in building materials, furnishings and consumer products, and estimation of human exposure, particularly in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children. Her laboratory utilizes mass spectrometry, including targeted and nontargeted approaches, to characterize chemical burdens in both environmental samples and biological tissues to support environmental health research. Currently she serves as the Director for the Duke Superfund Research Center, and Director of the Duke Environmental Analysis Laboratory, which is part of NIH’s Human Health Environmental Analysis Resource.
Education
- B.S. Long Island University, Southhampton College, 1997
- M.S. University of Maryland, College Park, 2000
- Ph.D. University of Maryland, College Park, 2003
Positions
- Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor
- Professor in the Division of Environmental Natural Sciences
- Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Environment. Clarivate. 2021
- Thomas Langford Lectureship Award. Duke University. 2020
- Highly Cited Researcher. Clarivate. 2019
- Best Paper of the Year Award. Environmental Science & Technology. 2011
Courses Taught
- ENVIRON 899: Master's Project
- ENVIRON 898: Program Area Seminar
- ENVIRON 540: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds
- ENVIRON 393: Research Independent Study
- ENVIRON 360: Environmental Health: Pollutant Chemistry and Toxicology
- CEE 563: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds
In the News
- ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Everywhere. Most of Their Health Effects Are Unknown (Apr 8, 2025 | Duke Today)
- What’s the Cancer Risk for Firefighters? A Study Seeks to Find Out. (Mar 17, 2025 | Duke Cancer Institute)
- Welcome to the Microbial Revolution (Jan 20, 2023 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Duke Superfund Center Receives $11.7 Million Grant to Study Sites of Industrial Contamination (Oct 25, 2022 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- Global Concerns for Maternal Health Come Close to Home (Jul 27, 2022)
- Duke Research Helps Firefighters Track Exposure to Harmful Chemicals (May 25, 2022 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- Direct Impact: NIH Funding and the Duke Superfund Research Center (Mar 22, 2022)
- Beware Those Anti-Fogging Sprays and Cloths (Jan 11, 2022 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- Identifying Exposure Risks from Common Household Chemicals in Durham Homes (Nov 19, 2021 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Duke Celebrates Women and Girls in Science Day (Feb 10, 2021)
- Duke Study Finds High PFAS Levels in Pittsboro Residents’ Blood (Oct 30, 2020 | North Carolina Health News)
- Earth Day at 50 (Apr 22, 2020 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- Duke Awards 29 University Distinguished Professorships (Apr 14, 2020)
- What's in North Carolina Drinking Water? (Feb 7, 2020)
- Toxic PFAS is in Your Drinking Water. Most Filters Aren't Completely Removing Them (Feb 5, 2020 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- New Nicholas Environmental Analysis Lab To Watch the Toxins We Are Exposed to in Daily Life (Oct 7, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- Chemicals in Your Sofa, Health Risks in Your Children (Feb 18, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- From Clean Up To Cutting Edge Research (Nov 3, 2017 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
- Superfund Center Wins Five-Year Renewal (Jul 11, 2017)
- Camping tents toxic? Duke study reveals troubling chemical exposure (May 18, 2016 | Gear Junkie)
- Four Pratt Faculty Listed Among Most Highly Cited (Jan 26, 2016)
- Heather Stapleton’s lab: Popular car seats found to contain flame retardant (Dec 21, 2015 | “CBS This Morning”)
- Are Flame Retardant Chemicals Fueling Thyroid Cancer? (Dec 14, 2015)
- Study finds toxic nail-polish chemicals in women's bodies (Oct 20, 2015 | Fox News)
- House dust chemicals activate receptor linked to obesity (Jul 30, 2015 | Chemical Watch)
- House Dust May Trigger Obesity Receptor (Jul 28, 2015)
- Why more scientists are speaking out on contentious issues (Jun 12, 2015 | National Geographic)
- How to test a couch for toxins (Sep 29, 2014 | The Atlantic)
- Moms and toddlers may be at risk -- from sofas (Sep 22, 2014 | The News & Observer)
Representative Publications
- Kesler, R. M., N. Sauer, A. Barowy, C. Probert, D. L. Neumann, A. C. Mayer, M. Niemeier-Walsh, K. W. Fent, H. M. Stapleton, and G. P. Horn. “Evaluation of combustion products in air from electric and internal combustion engine vehicles during full-scale fire experiments (Accepted).” Fire Safety Journal 158 (December 1, 2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104558.
- Boxer, Elizabeth, Yilin Zhong, Jessica Levasseur, Heather M. Stapleton, and Kate Hoffman. “Young infants' exposure to parabens: lotion use as a potential source of exposure.” Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology 35, no. 6 (November 2025): 1003–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-025-00756-4.
- Wise, Catherine F., Elizabeth Boxer, Jillian Hurst, Rebecca M. Hoehn, Nicholas J. Herkert, Duncan Hay, Ellen M. Cooper, Heather M. Stapleton, and Kate Hoffman. “Silicone Ankle Bands as a Tool to Assess Infant Exposures to Semivolatile Organic Chemicals in Indoor Environments.” Environ Sci Technol Lett 12, no. 10 (October 14, 2025): 1314–19. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00774.
- Franges, Jared, Lauren Malinowski, Chathuri De Alwis, Taylor Doolittle, Yixing Li, Hannahlee Dixon, Yang Tang, et al. “Developmental PBDE exposure persistently impairs mast cell function in vivo and drives sex-specific morphological and transcriptional changes in bone marrow-derived mast cells.” Environmental Research 288, no. Pt 1 (October 2025): 123250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.123250.
- Wang, Xiangtian, Yan Lin, Xiaodong Liu, Emily A. Craig, Heather M. Stapleton, Michael H. Bergin, and Junfeng Jim Zhang. “Urinary Pyrene Carboxylic Acid as a Novel Exposure Biomarker of Woodsmoke.” Environmental Science & Technology Letters, September 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00587.