Faculty in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment are known for their breadth of scholarship on environmental science and policy. Research conducted here is done on an international scale, addressing issues that affect nations across the globe. Dr. Joel Meyer, associate professor of environmental toxicology, is one of these scholars. He studies the how toxic environmental agents cause damage to human and animal DNA. His lab here at Duke has a particular focus on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA damage and how it affects the environmental health of organisms and ecosystems.

He is also a proponent of open scholarship here at the university. “I think that research in general should be as publically accessible as possible,” he said, “to allow science as well as science-related policy decisions to advance as much as possible.” To make his work more accessible, Dr. Meyer has put a number of his research articles in Duke’s digital repository, which allows anyone with an internet connection to access them. As he stated, “Most people who are not at large research universities can’t access most scientific journals without paying high fees.” The repository is designed to break down that barrier.
Open access to Dr. Meyer’s research also increases the overall findability of it, increasing the overall impact of his and his lab’s work and raising his profile as a scholar. You can read more about making your work available in the digital repository here.

You can find out more about Dr. Meyer and his research through his Scholars@Duke profile.