Enhanced Scientific Leadership and Capacity in the US Environmental Protection Agency - Science For Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead - page 158

and resourceful scientific leadership at various levels in the agency. This in-
cludes EPA using all of its authority effectively, including pursuing permanent
Title 42 authority, to recruit, hire, and retain the high-level science and engineer-
ing leaders that it needs to maintain a strong inhouse research program (NRC
2010a). It will also mean maintaining a critical mass of world-class experts who
have the ability to identify and access the necessary science inside or outside
EPA and to work collaboratively with researchers in other agencies.
Finding: Expertise in traditional scientific disciplines—including but not lim-
ited to statistics, chemistry, economics, environmental engineering, ecology,
toxicology, epidemiology, exposure science, and risk assessment—are essential
for addressing the challenges of today and the future. The case of statistics is
one example where the agency is facing significant retirements and needs to
have, if anything, enhanced expertise. 1 EPA is currently attuned to these needs,
but staffing high-quality scientists in these areas of expertise who can embrace
problems by drawing from information across disciplines will require continued
attention if EPA is to maintain its leadership role in environmental science and
technology.
Recommendation: EPA should continue to cultivate a scientific workforce
across the agency (including ORD, program offices, and regions) that can
take on transdisciplinary challenges.
The committee recognizes that EPA already provides many unique oppor-
tunities to engage in high quality, collaborative, and interdisciplinary research.
However, EPA can continue to build its capacity by cultivating a scientific
workforce across the agency (including ORD, program offices, and regions) that
can take on transdisciplinary challenges. Some options that EPA might explore
to fulfill the recommendation above include:
 Build a stronger mentoring and leadership development program that
supports young researchers and fosters the culture of systems-thinking research.
 Recruit young scientists who have expertise and interest in scientific
concepts and tools relevant to systems thinking.
 Promote rotations through its laboratories and through the laboratories
of other federal agencies and scientific organizations as valuable training experi-
ences for new scientists in the areas of environmental health, science, and engi-
neering.
1 ORD currently has 12 epidemiologists, 31 statisticians (mathematical or research),
and 8 biologic and health statisticians (E. Struble, EPA, personal communication, July
13, 2012). These job titles typically require a certain amount of statistics course work and
do not fully reflect statistical expertise across the entire agency. There are staff members
with other job titles who also fulfill the data analysis role.