Heather M. Stapleton

Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor
Dr. Stapleton's research focuses on understanding the fate and transformation of organic contaminants in aquatic systems and in indoor environments. Her main focus has been on the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of brominated flame retardants, and specifically polybrominated diphenyl ethers,(PBDEs). Her current research projects explore the routes of human exposure to flame retardant chemicals and examine the way these compounds are photodegraded and metabolized using mass spectrometry to identify breakdown products/metabolites. She uses both in vivo techniques with fish, and in vitro techniques with cell cultures to examine metabolism of this varied class of chemicals. Also of interest to Dr. Stapleton is the study of the fate of PBDEs in the environment which may lead to bioaccumulation in aquatic systems and examining their bioavailability under different environmental conditions.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor
- Professor
- Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Contact Information
- Office Location: 9 Circuit Drive, Box 90328, LSRC Room A207, Durham, NC 27710
- Office Phone: (919) 613-8717
- Email Address: heather.stapleton@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- Ph.D. University of Maryland, College Park, 2003
- M.S. University of Maryland, College Park, 2000
- B.S. Long Island University, Southhampton College, 1997
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Highly Cited Researcher. Thomson Reuters. 2014
Courses Taught
- CEE 563: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds
- CEE 563D: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds
- ENVIRON 360: Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology
- ENVIRON 393: Research Independent Study
- ENVIRON 394: Research Independent Study
- ENVIRON 540: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds
- ENVIRON 540D: Chemical Fate of Organic Compounds
- ENVIRON 593: Independent Studies and Projects
- ENVIRON 780: Environmental Exposure Analysis
- ENVIRON 898: Program Area Seminar
- ENVIRON 899: Master's Project
In the News
- 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
- Ingle, ME; Mínguez-Alarcón, L; Carignan, CC; Stapleton, HM; Williams, PL; Ford, JB; Moravek, MB; O'Neill, MS; Wang, L; Hauser, R; Meeker, JD; Earth Study Team,, Reproductive outcomes associated with flame retardants among couples seeking fertility treatment: A paternal perspective., Environmental Research, vol 192 (2021) [10.1016/j.envres.2020.110226] [abs].
- Levasseur, JL; Hammel, SC; Hoffman, K; Phillips, AL; Zhang, S; Ye, X; Calafat, AM; Webster, TF; Stapleton, HM, Young children's exposure to phenols in the home: Associations between house dust, hand wipes, silicone wristbands, and urinary biomarkers., Environment International, vol 147 (2020) [10.1016/j.envint.2020.106317] [abs].
- Kassotis, CD; Herkert, NJ; Hammel, SC; Hoffman, K; Xia, Q; Kullman, SW; Sosa, JA; Stapleton, HM, Thyroid Receptor Antagonism of Chemicals Extracted from Personal Silicone Wristbands within a Papillary Thyroid Cancer Pilot Study., Environmental Science & Technology, vol 54 no. 23 (2020), pp. 15296-15312 [10.1021/acs.est.0c05972] [abs].
- Kassotis, CD; Hoffman, K; Phillips, AL; Zhang, S; Cooper, EM; Webster, TF; Stapleton, HM, Characterization of adipogenic, PPARγ, and TRβ activities in house dust extracts and their associations with organic contaminants., The Science of the Total Environment (2020) [10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143707] [abs].
- Hall, SM; Patton, S; Petreas, M; Zhang, S; Phillips, AL; Hoffman, K; Stapleton, HM, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Dust Collected from Residential Homes and Fire Stations in North America., Environmental Science & Technology, vol 54 no. 22 (2020), pp. 14558-14567 [10.1021/acs.est.0c04869] [abs].