The creativity, passion, and impact of young researchers is inspiring, and when applied to pressing, real-world problems like lead poisoning, these research characteristics take on an even more important and pressing tone. Dr. Franziska Landes has consistently demonstrated the drive to make real differences in communities, the creativity to develop new lead testing strategies and place them in the hands of the very communities that are burdened by lead contamination, and the scholarship to produce scientific products to share these innovations with the world.

Franziska uses citizen science and community-engaged research to identify and eradicate pollution in environments ranging from New York City backyards to mining villages in the Peruvian Andes. Achieving this scale of impact requires creative thinking about how to engage people in the discovery and research process and providing them with tools that they could use themselves in a practical way. It is also incredibly hard as a researcher to take the time to develop trust in the community and to develops tools that are user friendly, culturally appropriate, and understandable for the communities that need them. Franziska not only developed and validated low-cost, citizen-friendly testing kits for bioavailable lead in soils but also created a mobile-friendly database structure and autocapture system for demographics, observations, and lead data and in Spanish on top of all that!

Franziska is sharing the products of these efforts in several ways. She has followed the traditional publication route to share her technique development and implementation results. But perhaps as important, she worked with communities to develop locally appropriate research translation tools for communities and engaged actively with organizations in Peru to ensure sustainability of this program. She has also brought her passion to the AGU GeoHealth section, chairing the Early Career Committee and guest editing a special issue of the journal GeoHealth on community-engaged research and citizen science.

Overall, if I were asked to identify the type of scholar who should come out of the 21st century academy, it would be Franziska: scientifically diligent, passionate about using science to improve society, and engaging in the trenches on the important environmental health issues of the day. It is truly my honor to have been able to nominate Franziska for this award.

—Gabriel Filippelli, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis

Presentation Title: Identifying Lead Contamination at the Source of Exposure: Collaborating with Community Members to Protect Public Health

Event: 2018 Fall Meeting

Awarding Section: GeoHealth