Curriculum

Born 1950

Education
MD, University of Copenhagen, 1974
DMSc, University of Copenhagen, 1979

Employment
Fulbright Senior Scholar, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, 1978-80
Chief, Department of Occupational Medicine, Danish National Institute of Occupational Health, 1980-82
Professor of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark from 1982
Consultant to the Danish Health and Medicines Authority 1983-2017
Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health and Neurology, Boston University, 1994-2002
Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 2003-2022

Research Professor, University of Rhode Island, 2022-

Scientific journals, societies and awards
European Editor, Archives of Environmental Health, 1986-1992
Founding Editor, Environmental Health, 2002-
Member, editorial boards of four other journals
Fellow, Collegium Ramazzini, 1987; Council member, 2005-2013
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1994
‘Mercury madness award’ for excellence in science in the public interest, from eight US environmental organizations, 2004
Emeritus Fellow, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2009
Honorary Research Award, International Order of Odd Fellows, 2010
Science Communication Award, University of Southern Denmark, 2012

Bernardino Ramazzini Award, 2015

Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology Nordic Award, 2015

Margrethegaarden honorary prize, 2016

John R. Goldsmith Award, 2016

Honorary doctorate (dr.h.c.), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2022

Needleman Award in Children’s Environmental Health, 2022

International Francqui Chair, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 2023

Top100Doctor, 2025

Major committees
Chair, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Commission on Toxicology, 1987-1991
Member, Danish Medical Research Council, 1992-1998
Chair, Research Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation, 2004-2009
Member, European Food Safety Authority, Panel on Contaminants, 2003-2009
Member of special emphasis panels, National Institutes of Health (USA), 2009-2021
Member of research committee under the Norwegian Research Council, 2009-2015
Member of World Health Organization's European Advisory Committee on Health Research from 2011-2017
Member of the Scientific Committee, European Environment Agency 2012-2020

Institut LUxembourgeois de la Médecine/santé ENvironnementale (ILUMEN): Member, Scientific Council, 2022

Research Interests

Research Profile

Dr. Grandjean is Professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark and, during 2003-2022, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health, then Research Professor at the University of Phode Island. He also functioned for over 30 years as Consultant to the Danish Health and Medicines Authority. He has also served on editorial boards of several scientific journals and, in 2002, became a founding Editor-in-Chief of "Environmental Health". Most of his peer-reviewed journal publications relate to adverse effects in children exposed to chemical pollutants.

Research information

Environmental epidemiology research with a focus on delayed effects associated with exposures to environmental chemicals, especially during early development.
The main efforts are based on prospective studies of birth cohorts exposed to elevated levels of environmental pollution, especially at the Fare Islands, where the main source of exposure is the traditional diet (pilot whale). The focus is on neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption and other adverse effects on growth and development. The research has dealt with (methyl)mercury, but other key pollutants are the perfluorinated compounds, PCBs and endocrine disruptors.
In addition, an important research angle is age-dependent functional decline and degenerative disease of the nervous systen and the cardiovascular system in relation to life-time exposure to mercury and persistent environmental chemicals. Studies in other countries also focus on neurological effects due to arsenic, fluoride and pesticides.
Research in these fields may lead to intervention and prevention - with possible economic consequenses - thereby necessitating consideration of the so-called precautionary principle in interpreting the research results.