Valery E. Forbes

Valery E. Forbes
Valery Forbes hosting the Spring 2026 Future Doctors' Reception at Florida Atlantic.
BornNovember 14, 1961, Yonkers, New York
EducationStony Brook University, Binghamton University
OccupationScientist
Writing career
Notable awardsDoctor Honoris Causa, Roskilde University, Denmark, 2022; Helmholtz International Fellow, 2018

Valery E. Forbes is an American ecologist and professor specializing in environmental toxicology. Since the start of the 2022-2023 academic season, she has been Dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University.[1] Prior to this, she served as Dean of the College of Biological Sciences at University of Minnesota (2015-2022), Director of the School of Biological Sciences at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2011-2015), and Founding Head of the Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change at Roskilde University, Denmark (2006-2011).Her research expertise is in ecotoxicology, where she primarily studies effects of environmental stressors, such as toxic chemicals, on organisms at different levels of biological organization.

Education

As an undergraduate student, Forbes received B. A.'s in Biology and Geology from Binghamton University in 1983. She later attended Stony Brook University, completing her M.S. in Marine Environmental Science in 1984, and her PhD in Coastal Oceanography in 1988.[2]

Scientific contributions

Forbes' research is aimed at improving environmental management through increased understanding of how risks, such as exposure to toxic chemicals and environmental changes, impact ecological systems. With over 400 publications and a google scholar h-index 60,[3] Forbes is an internationally recognized expert in assessing risks to complex ecological systems using population modeling. Her expertise led to her participation in an advisory group formed to advise SETAC-Europe[4] about using mechanistic effect models for ecological risk assessment of chemicals.[5]

Awards and honors

  • Recognized among the world's top 2% of scientists[6], 2025
  • Elected to Phi Kappa Phi, 2023
  • Awarded Honorary Doctor Degree (Doctor Honoris Causa) by Roskilde University, Denmark, 2022[7]
  • Named Helmholtz International Fellow, 2018[8]
  • Fellow of the University of Minnesota Institute of the Environment, 2018-2022[9]
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Minnesota Freshwater Society, 2016-2022[10]
  • Fulbright Scholar, Odense University, Denmark, 1989[11]

Professional activities

  • Senior Editor, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 2021-Present[12]
  • Editorial Board, PeerJ, 2017–2019
  • Editorial Board, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management,[13] 2018–2021
  • Editorial Board, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 2005–Present
  • Editorial Board, Marine Environmental Research,[14] 2000–2021
  • Invited Member of the Spinoza Prize Selection Committee, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, 2013–2016
  • Editorial Board, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety,[15] 2004-2013
  • Director, Center for Integrated Population Ecology (CIPE)[16], 2005-2009
  • Director, Centre for Integrated Population Ecology, 2005–2009
  • Member, NATO Environmental Security Panel[17], 2004-2006
  • Danish Natural Sciences Research Council Member,[18] 2001–2007

Most highly cited works

  • Forbes VE, Palmqvist A, Bach L. 2006. The use and misuse of biomarkers in ecotoxicology. Environ Toxicol Chem. 25:272-280.[19]
  • Forbes VE, Calow P. 1999. Is the per capita rate of increase a good measure of population-level effects in ecotoxicology? Environ Toxicol Chem 18(7): 1544-1556.[20] [among the top 100 most-cited papers in Environ Toxicol Chem between 1982-2012]
  • Forbes VE, Forbes TL. 1994. Ecotoxicology in Theory and Practice. Chapman and Hall Ltd., London, 241p. ISBN 978-0-412-43530-0
  • Forbes VE, Calow P. 2002. Species sensitivity distributions revisited: a critical appraisal. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA) 8: 473-492.[21]
  • Forbes VE. 2000. Is hormesis an evolutionary expectation? Funct Ecol 14: 12-24.[22]
  • Forbes VE, Calow P, Sibly RM. 2008. The extrapolation problem and how population modeling can help. Environ Toxicol Chem. 27:1987-1994.[23]
  • Calow P, Forbes VE. 2003. Does ecotoxicology inform ecological risk assessment? Environmental Science and Technology 37:146A-151A.
  • Forbes VE, Calow P. 2002. Population growth rate as a basis for ecological risk assessment of toxic chemicals. Phil Trans Roy Soc Series B 357: 1299-1306.
  • Nienstedt K, Brock T, van Wensem J, Montforts M, Hart A, Hardy A, Aagaard A, Alix A, Boesten J, Bopp SK, Brown C, Capri E, Forbes VE, Köpp H, Liess M, Luttik R, Maltby L, Sousa P, Streissl F. 2012. Development of a framework based on an ecosystem services approach for deriving specific protection goals for environmental risk assessment of pesticides. Sci Tot Environ 415: 31-38.
  • Calow P, Sibly R, Forbes VE. 1997. Risk assessment on the basis of simplified life-history scenarios. Environ Toxicol Chem 16:1983-1989.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome, Dr. Valery Forbes! | Charles E. Schmidt College of Science (FAU)". fau.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  2. ↑ Forbes, Valery E. (1986). "Changes in feeding and crawling rates of Hydrobia truncata (Prosobranchia: Hydrobiidae) in response to sedimentary chlorophyll-a and recently egested sediment" (PDF). Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 33: 287–294. Bibcode:1986MEPS...33..287F. doi:10.3354/meps033287.
  3. ↑ "Valery Forbes".
  4. ↑ "About SETAC Europe". www.setac.org. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  5. ↑ Preuss, Thomas G.; Hommen, Udo; Alix, Anne; Ashauer, Roman; van den Brink, Paul; Chapman, Peter; Ducrot, Virginie; Forbes, Valery; Grimm, Volker; Schäfer, Dieter; Streissl, Franz (2009). "Mechanistic effect models for ecological risk assessment of chemicals (MEMoRisk)—a new SETAC-Europe Advisory Group". Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 16 (3): 250–252. Bibcode:2009ESPR...16..250P. doi:10.1007/s11356-009-0124-6. ISSN 0944-1344. PMID 19322598. S2CID 207266783.
  6. ↑ "Nearly 70 FAU Faculty Named Among World's Top 2% of Scientists". www.fau.edu. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  7. ↑ "Roskilde University awards three honorary doctorates | Roskilde University". ruc.dk. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  8. ↑ "Another five scientists receive the Helmholtz International Fellow Award". MEDIZIN ASPEKTE (in German). 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  9. ↑ "Welcoming the 2018 class of IonE Affiliates". Institute on the Environment. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  10. ↑ "Board of Directors". Freshwater Society. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  11. ↑ "Valery E. Forbes — Roskilde Universitets forskningsportal". forskning.ruc.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2019-03-02. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  12. ↑ "Editorial Board". Oxford Academic. Archived from the original on 2025-09-10. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  13. ↑ "Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management - Wiley Online Library". setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com. doi:10.1002/(ISSN)1551-3793. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  14. ↑ Marine Environmental Research.
  15. ↑ Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.
  16. ↑ "Centre for Integrated Population Ecology (CIPE) — Roskilde University Research Portal". forskning.ruc.dk. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  17. ↑ "Science for Peace and Security Programme - Overview". Organization | NATO. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ↑ Forbes, Valery E.; Palmqvist, Annemette; Bach, Lis (2006). "The use and misuse of biomarkers in ecotoxicology". Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 25 (1): 272–280. doi:10.1897/05-257R.1. ISSN 1552-8618.
  20. ↑ Forbes, Valery E.; Calow, Peter (1999). "Is the per capita rate of increase a good measure of population-level effects in ecotoxicology?". Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 18 (7): 1544–1556. doi:10.1002/etc.5620180729. ISSN 1552-8618.
  21. ↑ Forbes, Valery E.; Calow, Peter (2002-07-01). "Species Sensitivity Distributions Revisited: A Critical Appraisal". Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal. 8 (3): 473–492. doi:10.1080/10807030290879781. ISSN 1080-7039.
  22. ↑ Forbes, V. E. (2000). "Is hormesis an evolutionary expectation?". Functional Ecology. 14 (1): 12–24. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2000.00392.x. ISSN 1365-2435.
  23. ↑ Forbes, Valery E.; Calow, Peter; Sibly, Richard M. (2008). "The extrapolation problem and how population modeling can help". Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 27 (10): 1987–1994. doi:10.1897/08-029.1. ISSN 1552-8618.
  24. ↑ Calow, Peter; Sibly, Richard M.; Forbes, Valery (1997). "Risk assessment on the basis of simplified life-history scenarios". Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 16 (9): 1983–1989. doi:10.1002/etc.5620160931. ISSN 1552-8618.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.