Thomas Webster
Profiles

Thomas F Webster, DSc

Adjunct Professor, Environmental Health - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-2458
twebster@bu.edu
Talbot - T443 WEST
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Biography

Tom Webster has several main research areas: 1) exposure routes and health hazards of chemicals used in consumer products, especially flame retardants, plasticizers and emerging compounds, as well as perfluoralkyl compounds (PFCs) that are also found in water; 2) health impacts of exposure to mixtures of chemicals, with applications in toxicology and epidemiology; 3) endocrine disruption; 4) methodological aspects of environmental epidemiology, particularly causal inference, ecologic bias, the use of combinations of individual and group level data, and disease mapping and clusters. Like the rest of my department, I am very interested in the community context of environmental health.

Dr. Webster served on the National Research Council’s Subcommittee on Fluoride in Drinking Water and the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Making Best Use of the Agent Orange Exposure Reconstruction Model.

The work of Dr. Webster and his colleagues and students has been featured in Environmental Health Perspectives ("PFCs and Cholesterol: A Sticky Connection," "Unwelcome Guest: PBDEs in Indoor Dust"), Bostonia Magazine ("Trouble at Home," "You Are What You Eat, Including Your Sofa"), Discovery News ("Handwashing Cuts Flame Retardant Exposure") and the National Public Radio show "Living on Earth," among other places.

Education

  • Boston University School of Public Health, DSc Field of Study: Environmental Health
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, BS Field of Study: Biophysics

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHEH757
  • SPHEH872

Publications

  • Published on 1/29/2025

    Trier X, van-Leeuwen SPJ, Brambilla G, Weber R, Webster TF. The Critical Role of Commercial Analytical Reference Standards in the Control of Chemical Risks: The Case of PFAS and Ways Forward. Environ Health Perspect. 2025 Jan; 133(1):15001. PMID: 39878487.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/6/2025

    Ruyle BJ, Pennoyer EH, Vojta S, Becanova J, Islam M, Webster TF, Heiger-Bernays W, Lohmann R, Westerhoff P, Schaefer CE, Sunderland EM. High organofluorine concentrations in municipal wastewater affect downstream drinking water supplies for millions of Americans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Jan 21; 122(3):e2417156122. PMID: 39761386.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/1/2024

    Lin PD, Cardenas A, Rokoff LB, Rifas-Shiman SL, Zhang M, Botelho J, Calafat AM, Gold DR, Zota AR, James-Todd T, Hauser R, Webster TF, Oken E, Fleisch AF. Associations of PFAS concentrations during pregnancy and midlife with bone health in midlife: Cross-sectional and prospective findings from Project Viva. Environ Int. 2024 Dec; 194:109177. PMID: 39667063.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/17/2024

    Fruh V, Babalola T, Sears C, Wellenius GA, Webster TF, Mann KK, Harrington J, Tjønneland A, Raaschou-Nielsen O, Claus Henn B, Meliker JR. Dietary Minerals and Incident Cardiovascular Outcomes among Never-Smokers in a Danish Case-Cohort Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jul 17; 21(7). PMID: 39063508.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/7/2024

    Hoffman K, Tang X, Cooper EM, Hammel SC, Sjodin A, Phillips AL, Webster TF, Stapleton HM. Children's exposure to brominated flame retardants in the home: The TESIE study. Environ Pollut. 2024 Jul 01; 352:124110. PMID: 38723705.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/20/2024

    Sen P, Fan Y, Schlezinger JJ, Ehrlich SD, Webster TF, Hyötyläinen T, Pedersen O, Orešic M. Exposure to environmental toxicants is associated with gut microbiome dysbiosis, insulin resistance and obesity. Environ Int. 2024 Apr; 186:108569. PMID: 38522229.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/10/2023

    McGee G, Wilson A, Coull BA, Webster TF. Incorporating biological knowledge in analyses of environmental mixtures and health. Stat Med. 2023 Jul 30; 42(17):3016-3031. PMID: 37161723.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/27/2023

    Pennoyer EH, Heiger-Bernays W, Aro R, Yeung LWY, Schlezinger JJ, Webster TF. Unknown Organofluorine Mixtures in U.S. Adult Serum:Contribution from Pharmaceuticals? Toxics. 2023 Apr 27; 11(5). PMID: 37235230.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/10/2023

    Schildroth S, Friedman A, White RF, Kordas K, Placidi D, Bauer JA, Webster TF, Coull BA, Cagna G, Wright RO, Smith D, Lucchini RG, Horton M, Claus Henn B. Associations of an industry-relevant metal mixture with verbal learning and memory in Italian adolescents: The modifying role of iron status. Environ Res. 2023 May 01; 224:115457. PMID: 36773645.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/2/2022

    Hammel E, Webster TF, Gurney R, Heiger-Bernays W. Implications of PFAS definitions using fluorinated pharmaceuticals. iScience. 2022 Apr 15; 25(4):104020. PMID: 35313699.

     Read At: PubMed

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