"Brian Joondeph, a Colorado-based ophthalmologist and political commentator, has not published peer-reviewed research on air pollution science."
"The Trump administration has tapped an eye doctor with no background in air pollution science to advise the Environmental Protection Agency on what levels of air pollutants are safe to breathe.
The E.P.A. named Brian Joondeph, a Colorado-based ophthalmologist and political commentator, on Monday to the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, an influential panel that advises the agency’s leadership on the latest scientific evidence on soot, smog and other hazardous pollutants.
It was the government’s latest move to sideline or shun scientific expertise, drawing criticism from past members of the advisory panel.
By law, the seven-person committee must include a physician. For the past 50 years, the physician’s seat has been filled by pulmonologists, cardiologists and others who have researched how exposure to air pollution increases the risk of asthma, heart and lung diseases, cancer and other ailments."
Maxine Joselow reports for the New York Times March 12, 2026.
