We are proud to announce the ISES Annual Awards winners. Every year, the Society recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions in the field of exposure science. We are honored to recognize the following individuals this year.
Excellence In Exposure Science Award
The ISES Board of Directors established the Excellence in Exposure Science Award to recognize individuals who have left an indelible mark in the field of exposure science. This award is inspired by the work of visionary individuals who have helped shape the field of exposure science and who supported the origins and growth of the ISES and have now passed on but left a strong legacy.
Marike Kolossa-Gehring
Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance – Institute of the Ruhr-University Bochum (IPA)
Dr. Marike Kolossa-Gehring is an international expert in toxicology, and the assessment of chemical exposure and risk assessment, with a particular focus on human biomonitoring (HBM). She developed extensive expertise in policy relevant science as Head of the “Toxicology and Health-Related Environmental Monitoring Section” at the German Environment Agency (UBA) and through her work in expert groups of international organizations including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organization (WHO). She led major German HBM programmes, including the German Environmental Survey (GerES) and the German Environmental Specimen Bank.
From 2017 to 2022, she served as Coordinator of HBM4EU, a large-scale European Human Biomonitoring Initiative involving 118 collaborating entities from 30 countries. From 2022 to 2025, she was Co-Leader of the large-scale Exposure and Monitoring Work Package of the EU Partnership for the Risk Assessment of Chemicals (PARC). She is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (IJHEH).
Dr. Kolossa-Gehring has authored or co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, and her research has attracted substantial media attention. She served as Governmental Counselor of the International Society of Exposure Science (ISES) from 2011 to 2014 and received her doctorate in biology specializing in toxicology and alternatives for animal testing from Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany, in 1992.
Joan M. Daisey Outstanding Young Scientist Award
Alison Connolly
Assistant Professor in the UCD Centre for Safety and Health at Work, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin (UCD).
Dr Alison Connolly is an exposure scientist with responsibilities for teaching and research at University College Dublin (UCD). She is the Programme Director of the UCD Higher Diploma in Safety, Health and Well-Being at Work. Dr Connolly’s research is motivated by the protection of human health by evaluating and understanding exposures from new and emerging pollutants, predominantly using human biomonitoring approaches. Dr Connolly received her PhD from the University of Galway, researching glyphosate exposure among occupational groups. She was previously a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellow.
Dr Connolly is the PI of numerous projects that utilise human biomonitoring strategies to evaluate chemical exposures. Most recently, she was awarded Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding to initiate the ‘Human biomonitoring for Ireland (HBM4IE)’ national programme, which is a collaboration with the EU-wide project, Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) initiative. Dr Connolly is Ireland’s designated contact point (nominated by the Department of Health) for the European Environment and Health Process (EHP) Partnership on Human Biomonitoring in the WHO European Region.
Dr Connolly was a founding board member of the European Regional Chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science (ISES Europe). She is also the Chair of the ISES Europe Education, Training and Communication working group, which recently published the Exposure Science Training Series and the ‘This is Exposure Science’ video series. Dr Connolly also contributed to numerous ISES committees and hosted the ISES Europe chapter workshop in 2026.
ISES Service Award
Acknowledging exceptional service and dedication to ISES and its mission.
Dana Barr
Professor, Rollins Endowed Faculty Scholar, Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta GA, United States
Nicolle S. Tulve, Ph.D., is currently employed at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development (ORD). She is an internationally recognized expert on young children’s exposures to chemical and non-chemical stressors found in their everyday environments and the influence these stressors have on their health and well-being. Dr. Tulve published the Total Environment framework which is an integral component of cumulative impacts. She has had lead responsibility for several projects that were collaborative efforts with academia, other government organizations, and in-house research projects.
Nicolle received her Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Clarkson University, an M.S. in environmental health and toxicology from SUNY Albany, and a B.S. in biology from Oswego State. Immediately after graduation, Nicolle completed a post-doctoral fellowship in ORD related to children’s environmental health.
Nicolle is active in several professional societies, reviews for numerous refereed journals, and serves as an Associate Editor for JESEE.
Nicolle has been an active member of ISES for more than 20 years, serving in many volunteer roles including Chair of the Membership Committee and member of several technical organizing committees for annual meetings.
IPA/DGUV Award for Young Exposure Scientists
To foster research in exposure areas with linkages to biomonitoring for superior doctoral students working on their dissertation or superior first-year postdoctoral exposure scientists
Susan Hoffman
Researcher, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Dr. Susan S. Hoffman earned her PhD in Epidemiology from Emory University, where her dissertation investigated how endocrine-disrupting chemicals influence gestational age at birth through epigenetic and metabolomic pathways using single- and multi-omics approaches and high-dimensional mediation methods. During her doctoral training, she led research examining the impacts of environmental exposures on pregnancy and child health, with an emphasis on elucidating biological mechanisms underlying adverse birth outcomes.
Young Investigator Meeting Award
Encouraging student and early-career researcher participation at ISES Annual Meetings.
Yuan Yao
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles CA, United States
Dr. Yuan Yao is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She received her Ph.D. in Environment and Health from Peking University. Her research focuses on the intersection of air pollution, climate change, and human health, with an emphasis on wildfire smoke exposure, non-exhaust emissions, and community-engaged environmental health research.
Yuan has advanced understanding of emerging, non-exhaust sources of urban air pollution through her studies of fine particulate matter emissions from electric vehicle fast-charging stations and vehicle brake-wear particles. She has also led community-engaged research on the Aliso Canyon gas blowout disaster, working directly with affected households to assess long-term exposure risks. Following the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, she led indoor and outdoor air sampling efforts across fire-affected communities, helping characterize post-wildfire air quality. Her work has been published in The BMJ, Environmental Science & Technology Letters, and Environment International, and has been featured in U.S. News & World Report, Bloomberg, and Los Angeles Daily News.
Through her work, Yuan aims to translate scientific evidence into practical solutions that reduce health disparities, strengthen public health preparedness, and support equitable energy transitions.
ISES Award for Best Student Paper
Grant Tore
PhD Student, Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center (ERC) for Occupational Safety and Health, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore MD, United States
Dr. Grant Tore recently earned his PhD in Environmental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and holds an MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. As an exposure scientist and environmental epidemiologist, Dr. Tore’s research focuses on evaluating exposures among agricultural workers, including heat stress, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and their mixtures, and examining their impact on adverse kidney and other health outcomes. Specifically, he is interested in employing innovative exposure assessment and molecular epidemiological approaches to inform prevention strategies. For the past six years, he has also been active member of ISES as he previously served as Student Councilor on the Board of Directors, currently co-chairs the Students and New Researchers committee, is an active member of the Mentorship and Nominations committees, and is a reviewer for JESEE.
