Bio
Ms. Annaleise Conway is an environmental scientist with professional experience in the nonprofit, academic, and private sectors. She has performed standard aquatic testing in an ecotoxicology laboratory under EPA and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines and has utilized that knowledge to support assessments of potential environmental impacts of personal care product ingredients. Ms. Conway’s diverse work experiences have provided her with the skills to contribute to many types of projects. Recently, Ms. Conway was invited by the National Academy of Sciences to present her master’s degree thesis research on the toxicity of oxybenzone to a species of hard coral.
Relevant Experience
Toxicology
European Medicines Agency Pharmaceutical Support — Contracted and liaised with an ecotoxicological laboratory to conduct custom and standard biodegradation studies for a European Medicines Agency submission.
Environmental Risk Assessment, Edgerton, Ohio — Screened chemicals and analyzed environmental risk from soil for multiple receptors (benthic invertebrates, birds, and mammals) using the statistical program R pursuant with Ohio EPA guidance.
Ecological Risk Evaluation, Lakeside Ranch, California — Identified potential receptors for localized exceedances of persistent chemicals. Compiled life history and conservation status information. Evaluated potential exposure pathways. Provided a summary of findings and suggestions to minimize potential risk.
Risk Evaluation, Louisiana — Compiled and cleaned analytical data. Screened soil and sediment analytical results using Louisiana-specific guidance for human health (e.g., RECAP, MO-1) and the environment. Used the statistical program R to calculate environmental risk to wildlife.
Safety Assessments for Personal Care Product Ingredients, United States — Collected and compiled data on toxicity of personal care product ingredients from publicly available data sources (e.g., European Chemicals Agency [ECHA], Personal Care Products Council, European Food Safety Authority). Utilized these data in conjunction with potential exposure calculations to create safety assessments for humans and dogs.
High Throughput Screening for Personal Care Product Ingredients, United States — Screened more than 100 ingredients for biodegradation and acute aquatic toxicity using a variety of publicly available data sources (e.g., ECHA, Computational Toxicology and Methods Development Lab, National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme). Advised working group on standard testing procedures to improve assessment quality.
High Throughput Screening for Chemical Ingredients, United States — Compiled ecotoxicological endpoints and mode of action thresholds, and utilized the EnviroTox database to calculate ecological thresholds of toxicological concern to combine with existing predicted no-effect concentrations for a high throughput assessment of more than 1,000 chemical ingredients.
Support for the Personal Care Products Council with FDA Sunscreen Data Submission, United States — Reviewed and compiled findings on human and nonhuman mammalian metabolites of sunscreen active ingredients. Communicated testing needs with subcontractors and solicited quotes for required work.
Human Health Risk Assessment Support, United States — Supported a number of human health risk assessments through calculation of exposure point concentrations using ProUCL, compilation of exposure factors, and calculation of cancer and noncancer risk for exposure to soil, sediment, groundwater, surface water, and fish ingestion. Led report and memorandum writing as well as data presentation tasks.
Toxicity Testing of Oxybenzone on a Hard Coral, Solomons, Maryland — Completed full project design, implementation, and analysis of multiple exposures of oxybenzone on the hard coral Galaxea fascicularis. Performed chemical analysis of exposure concentrations and a variety of biological endpoints (e.g., mortality, photosynthetic pigment content, buoyant weight) as well as statistical analyses and model fitting of dose-response curves.
Standard Aquatic Toxicity Testing, Wareham, Massachusetts — Conducted acute and chronic aquatic toxicity tests following EPA and OECD guidance under Good Laboratory Practice conditions. Led various supporting activities such as standard test species culturing (primarily Pimephales promelas), peer review, and data analysis.
Litigation Support
Desalination Plant Environmental Litigation Support, Corpus Christi, Texas — Collected data pertinent to desalination intake and effluent impacts in the Aransas Channel and La Quinta Bay including whole effluent toxicity test results, salinity tolerance, and information on existing reverse-osmosis desalination projects. Summarized information using graphics and tables to effectively communicate findings.
Exposure Assessment Regarding PCBs, United States — Assisted with analysis and visualization regarding potential exposure to PCBs via inhalation of indoor air. Supported preparation of expert reports.
Biomonitoring
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Noncancer PCB Toxicology Support, United States — Provided insight pertaining to EPA’s Handbook for IRIS Assessments by summarizing key topics and identifying areas of insufficient guidance.
Berry’s Creek Superfund Site, Meadowlands, New Jersey — Completed fish sampling in Berry’s Creek and surrounding tributaries of the Hackensack River in support of residue biomonitoring collection.
PCB Litigation Support, St. Regis, New York — Reviewed literature on human PCB exposure and determined common endpoints and results to support ongoing litigation.
Education & Credentials
M.S., Marine-Estuarine Environmental Science, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, Maryland, 2021
B.S., Biology, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington, 2015
Certified Ecologist, Ecological Society of America, 2024
Professional Affiliations
Member of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Member of Product Stewardship Society
Other
Publications
Conway, A., S. Pauwels, M. Edwards, L. Fontenot, and R. Palachek. 2024. Red drum salinity tolerance: Comments on Ackerly et al. “Short-term salinity stress during early development impacts the growth and survival of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)”. Estuaries and Coasts 47(2):589–599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01303-w.
Conway, A.J., M. Gonsior, C. Clark, A. Heyes, and C.L. Mitchelmore. 2021. Acute toxicity of the UV filter oxybenzone to the coral Galaxea fascicularis. Sci. Total Environ. 796:148666.
Mitchelmore, C.L., E.E. Burns, A.J. Conway, A. Heyes, and I.A. Davies. 2021. A critical review of organic ultraviolet filter exposure, hazard, and risk to corals. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 40(4):967–988.
Powers, L.C., A.J. Conway, C.L. Mitchelmore, S.J. Fleischacker, M. Harir, D.C. Westerman, J.P. Croué, P. Schmitt-Kopplin, S.D. Richardson, and M. Gonsior. 2020. Tracking the formation of new brominated disinfection by-products during the seawater desalination process. Environ. Sci. Water Res. Technol. 6:2521–2541.
Mitchelmore, C.L., K. He, M. Gonsior, E. Hain, A. Heyes, C. Clark, R. Younger, P. Schmitt-Kopplin, A. Feerick, A.J. Conway, and L. Blaney. 2019. Occurrence and distribution of UV-filters and other anthropogenic contaminants in coastal surface water, sediment, and coral tissue from Hawaii. Sci. Total Environ. 670:398–410.
Presentations / Posters
Fung, E., C. Callis, L. Cooper, R. Jolly, M. Willming, A. Conway, and A. Maier. 2025. Determining a class-specific parenteral acceptable daily limit for sugar derivatives. Poster Presentation M645. 64th Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology, Orlando, FL. March 16–20.
Conway, A.J., L. Tolbert, and C. Ross. 2022. A science-based approach to addressing health and environmental safety issues of PFAS in cosmetics. Poster Presentation. 43rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Pittsburgh, PA. November 13–17.
Conway, A.J., P. DeLeo, S. Wang, C. Ross, A. Carrao, and A. Dysert. 2021. High throughput ingredient screening to improve the sustainability profile of a portfolio of consumer products. Oral Presentation. 42nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Portland, OR.
Conway, A.J. 2021. Determining the toxicity of the UV filter oxybenzone in the hard coral, Galaxea fascicularis. Personal Care Products Council Virtual Science Symposium.
Conway, A.J. 2021. Investigating the exposure and toxicity of UV filters to hard corals. Oral Presentation. Sunscreen Study: Additional Information Gathering on August 5, 2021, National Academy of Sciences.
Conway, A.J., M. Gonsior, A. Heyes, C. Clark, and C.L. Mitchelmore. 2019. Investigating the toxicity of the UV filter benzophenone-3 to the hard coral Galaxea fascicularis. Oral Presentation. 40th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Toronto, CA.
Conway, A.J., M. Gonsior, A. Heyes, C. Clark, C. Ross, and C.L. Mitchelmore. 2020. Investigating the toxicity of the UV filter benzophenone-3 to the hard coral Galaxea fascicularis. Oral Presentation. 41st Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, SciCon2.