Dr. Stapleton received her PhD in environmental chemistry from the University of Maryland at College Park in 2003. From 2003-2005 she was a postdoctoral research associate at the National Institute of Standards & Technology in their Analytical Chemistry Division and in September of 2005 she accepted a position as assistant professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment. In 2008 she was awarded with an Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award (ONES) from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for her research grant proposal entitled "Children's Exposure to Brominated Flame Retardants: Effects on Thyroid Hormone Regulation.

Dr. Stapleton's research program examines the sources, fate, transport and metabolism of halogenated organic contaminants in the environment. Her current research projects focus on human exposure to flame retardant chemicals, particularly in children, and identification of flame retardant chemicals in consumer products. She also has active research programs that examine species-specific differences in the metabolism of flame retardant chemicals and impacts of halogenated contaminants on thyroid hormone regulation. Analytical methods employed in Dr. Stapleton's laboratory include gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. (ESP)