Elijah J. Petersen completed his PhD at the University of Michigan in Environmental Engineering in 2007. Then, he completed postdocs at the University of Joensuu (Finland) on a Fulbright scholarship and then the University of Michigan before joining NIST as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow. He is a staff scientist in the Cell Systems Science group in the Biosystems and Biomaterials division. His research currently focuses on the development of robust, reproducible toxicity test methods with a focus on in vitro test methods and methods for plastic particles. He is an associate editor for Nanotoxicology and Nanoimpact. He recently was honored with the 2020 Chemical Research in Toxicology Young Investigator Award and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2019.