Dr. Tracey Woodruff

In this assignment, you will get to know Dr. Tracey Woodruff, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in reproductive and developmental health, particularly as it pertains to environmental health policy-making. Download the attached file for the detailed instructions and web links. You will listen/read an interview Dr. Woodruff did with NPR and read a news article about her work with environmental chemicals, and write a 250+ word response to four questions. Make sure you review the Specifications Rubric at the end of the assignment on how your assignment will be graded! https://s3.amazonaws.com/blackboard.learn.xythos.prod/57c93be5643d6/11957516?response-cache-control=private%2C%20max-age%3D21600&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%272020%252008%252027%2520Policy%2520Influencer%2520%25231.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20200829T060000Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAYDKQORRYTKBSBE4S%2F20200829%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=33ca32a135cb0c9ff80a5027f8a40cba98bd037126d7870213dda69733b185be Dr. Tracey Woodruff is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) at the University of California, San Francisco. Prior to joining UCSF, Dr. Woodruff worked for 13 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Policy as a senior scientist and policy advisor. Listen to this NPR interview with Dr. Woodruff about the role of science in decision-making (particularly as it pertains to climate change) but why science is not the only factor a policymaker must consider. The transcript is available on this website, but you can also click on the blue “Play” button on the left to listen to the 4-minute podcast: https://www.npr.org/2017/01/26/511851695/former-epa-scientist-weighs-in-on-fate-of-climate- science-under-trump Read this news article featuring Dr. Woodruff’s various work on environmental chemicals and pay particular attention to the “Policies for the People” section where Dr. Woodruff explains why public policies are so important: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/06/407416/toxic- exposure-chemicals-are-our-water-food-air-and- furniture?utm_source=email&utm_medium=edu&utm_campaign=environmental%20toxics After reviewing these resources, write a 250 word or more response to the following questions:     1. When asked whether she makes her own shampoo at home, Dr. Woodruff says “Oh, my God, no” and explains that this is why we need the EPA and where policy comes in. What does she mean by this? How can EPA ensure that people don’t need to make their own shampoo to stay safe from chemical exposures? 2. Dr. Woodruff stresses that public policy is about taking the science we have and using it with other non-science factors that are important for making a decision. For instance, if we know that BPA is harmful to human health, policy-makers must still consider other factors before deciding whether to ban or limit population exposures to BPA. Come up with two examples of other factors specific to BPA that a policy-maker might want to consider, and why they would be important. 3. Dr. Woodruff provides an example of California outlawing flame retardants and the subsequent impact on the population. What do these results tell you about the potential impact of wide-scale public policy? 4. If you could ask Dr. Woodruff any one question about environmental health policy, what would you ask?