Prof. Paul T C Harrison  BSc, PhD, GradCertEd(Coll), CBiol, FIBiol, FRSA, FBTS

Paul Harrison is Director of PTCH Consultancy Limited, specialising in environmental toxicology, chemical toxicology and risk assessment, dust and fibre toxicology, indoor air quality, research management, and environment and health policy. He has a PhD in environmental physiology from the UniversityofLondon; his post-doctoral research was in respiratory tract carcinogenesis and toxicological pathology. He is a BTS/IoB and Eurotox registered toxicologist and a Fellow of the InstituteofBiology, British Toxicology Society and the RSA. He is presently a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University.

Paul's previous positions include Senior Toxicologist at BP's Occupational Health Centre, where he was responsible for advising on the toxicity of various chemicals and products and for the unit's research quality assurance programme. He joined the UK Department of the Environment (DoE) in 1991 and became Head of the Indoor Air Quality and Major Accidents Branch of the Toxic Substances Division before being seconded to the Medical Research Council in October 1993 to help establish the Institute for Environment and Health at LeicesterUniversity. He formally transferred to the MRC in 1997 and was appointed Acting Director of MRC-IEH in July 1998. The Institute was re-established at CranfieldUniversity in November 2005 and Paul was duly appointed Director, a position he held until starting his own consultancy company in October 2008.

Paul has held positions on various expert groups and committees including the UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum (Deputy Chair), EC Expert Group on Indoor Air Quality, DH Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP), the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS), the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances (ACHS), the FSA Working Party on Chemical Contaminants,  and the Interdepartmental Group on Health Risks from Chemicals (IGHRC). He was the founder Chairman of the UK Indoor Environments Group. He has published many scientific papers and articles on a broad range of environment and health issues, notably fibre toxicology, endocrine disruption and indoor air quality, and is on the editorial board of several distinguished journals. He is also presently Chair of the CranfieId University Health Research Ethics Committee.

As well as having a wealth of experience in chemical toxicology and risk assessment, Paul is an experienced research programme manager. While at IEH, heled research teams addressing a range of issues relating to environment and health, with the main focus being on health effects of pollution (including indoor air quality, waste combustion and contaminated land), endocrine disruption, and chemical exposure and risk assessment. He has also been engaged in the management of several significant external research programmes.