David Michaels, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and professor at George Washington University School of Public Health. He served as the longest-serving Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA from 2009 to 2017, where he strengthened exposure standards and launched several initiatives, including the Temporary Workers Initiative and sustainability activities.
Earlier, he was the Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health from 1998 to 2001, where he led the initiative to compensate workers in the nuclear weapons complex. Michaels has also served on the US National Toxicology Program’s Executive Committee and contributed to COVID-19 worker protection efforts.
He is a leader in advocating for scientific integrity and has authored books on the subject. Michaels has received numerous awards for his work, including the AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award and the APHA’s David P. Rall Award for Advocacy in Public Health, the John P. McGovern Science and Society Award given by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists’ William D. Wagner Award and William Steiger Memorial Award.