Stephanie Kennedy (Laplaca), Phd Email & Phone Number

Dr. Stephanie Kennedy (LaPlaca) is an ecotoxicologist and holds a B.S. in Marine Science, a M.S. in Environmental Health Science, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology. Her dissertation research investigated the acute and chronic toxicity of tire-wear particles to aquatic organisms, using biomarker analyses to identify adverse effects. Dr. Kennedy has experience in ecotoxicological hazard identification and ecological risk assessment. She is well versed in aquatic ecotoxicology and has worked with a diverse client base in her current role, including industry and industry trade associations, government (federal and state), and nonprofit organizations. Dr. Kennedy has applied various regulatory paradigms when assessing chemical hazards and deriving ecological toxicity values, including guidance from ECHA, EC, and US EPA. Dr. Kennedy has experience in collecting, extracting, appraising, and synthesizing scientific evidence and communicating findings effectively to facilitate informed decision-making. She has performed chemical hazard assessments according to criteria from GHS and Cradle to Cradle methodologies. In addition to her ecotoxicological technical skills, Dr. Kennedy is also proficient in information sciences. She is familiar with searching and navigating databases such as ToxPlanet, PubMed, and Embase for literature review and establishing workflows in systematic review software such as DistillerSR. Dr. Kennedy has streamlined reference management for a large evidence base and managed literature review for the rapidly evolving knowledge base on a contaminant of emerging concern, incorporating QA/QC throughout the project to ensure data accuracy. She also developed a novel ecological toxicity study reliability assessment framework which integrated concepts from existing critical appraisal tools (NTP-OHAT, CRED, USEPA-TSCA).Dr. Kennedy has worked previously at the state regulatory level in water quality and environmental health monitoring programs. She assisted in project management by coordinating biological sampling efforts and laboratory activities. She also used her capability with geographic information system software (ArcGIS) to correlate water quality parameters with site physical characteristics. She is also well-versed in water quality topics such aquatic ecology, harmful algal blooms, water chemistry, and the application and integration of these topics within the context of state and federal regulations.