Bindu Panikkar, of ̽̽ and the Environmental Program, has been honored for her exceptional work with communities to advance environmental and public health. She received the 2019 Science for the Benefit of Environmental Health Award, given jointly by and the .
“This award recognizes that working with communities from inside academia is often not easy, and sometimes even risky,” said Madeleine Scammell, Associate Professor in the Boston University School of Public Health. “I was introduced to the concept of participatory research while a student at ̽̽, and it is consistent with the mission of a Land Grant University. I am especially glad to present this year’s award to Bindu Panikkar, Assistant Professor at ̽̽.”
Dr. Panikkar focuses her academic and research endeavors on community-based research, environmental health and justice, and social movements.
“Dr. Panikkar has spent her career using science to help communities on the frontlines of the worst threats to environment and health,” said Sylvia Broude, Executive Director of Toxics Action Center. “She truly understands community engagement and the power of pairing science with community organizing, and the results are healthier and better-informed communities.”
Recently, Dr. Panikkar worked with residents in Merrimack, New Hampshire on a community health study that showed statistical significance linking PFAS-contaminated drinking water to health issues in the community. Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water, the citizens’ group working to clean up the contamination, collected data from 600 residents. Dr. Panikkar and her student, Ben Lemmond, turned the spreadsheet of unusable data into readable charts to share the results. Her work helped the group win stronger state drinking water standards and submit a competitive official health study application for community blood testing.
“Merrimack residents worked together to gather our own health data to show the harm from PFAS chemical that we know exists,” said Laurene Allen of Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water. “When presenting the descriptive data to our state was not enough, Bindu assisted with a scientific data analysis that has been key to our ability to advocate for the health protections we need.”
Since 2002, Dr. Panikkar has worked with Toxics Action Center to assist community groups fighting threats to environmental health. She has helped residents campaign to close down the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts and developed Toxics Action Center’s first environmental hazards maps. Her current work includes spearheading a partnership with Toxics Action Center, Vermont Law School, Center for Whole Communities, and Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s Mobile Home Program in Vermont to explore what environmental justice should look like to inform policy in the state. She has been on the board of Toxics Action Center since 2017.
Dr. Panikkar has also conducted community-based research with groups in Alaska, Yukon, and Nunavut to explore controversial issues of newly proposed resource extractions and impacts to subsistence, food security, and health from sea ice change on the Northwest Passage.
“We cannot address the persistent environmental health and justice issues without bridging the divide between the community and the university,” said Dr. Panikkar, a Gund Fellow and former Henderson Fellow at ̽̽ where she is also Associate Director of the Institute of Environmental Diplomacy. “We need to get out of our comfort zones; rather than building walls with data, we need to build knowledge with the communities to build inclusive communities.”
“As a former Henderson Fellow at ̽̽, Bindu exemplifies the commitment and excitement necessary to make real and sustainable strides toward improving environmental health and justice, and I congratulate her on the receipt of this prestigious award,” said Wanda Heading-Grant, ̽̽ Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.
Dr. Panikkar received her award at the 32nd annual , the largest gathering of environmental and public health activists in the region. The conference, hosted by the Toxics Action Center and the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, was held April 27, 2019 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The award is informally called “The Dick Clapp Award” after the first recipient, Dr. Richard Clapp, professor emeritus of Boston University School of Public Health. An internationally renowned leader in environmental health and epidemiology who founded the Massachusetts cancer registry, Dr. Clapp dedicated his career to helping citizens develop solutions to public health challenges. Almost every year since 2006, the New England-based award has been given for exceptional work in advancing public and environmental health.
“I am honored to receive an award named after one of my own professors who has served as an incredible mentor for so many of us in the field of environmental health,” said Dr. Panikkar.