Alastair Hay has been concerned about the control of chemical and biological weapons for nearly 40 years, and his work has included six investigations of actual and alleged chemical weapons use, including one with PHR in 1992. He has worked on numerous projects with PHR since then. He currently advises the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on education and outreach.
Dr. Hay’s research interests have included pharmacokinetics, biomarkers, and regulatory toxicology. From 1989 until 2016, Dr. Hay advised the UK Health and Safety Executive, and, between 2005 and 2014, the European Union, on occupational exposure standards for chemicals in the workplace.
Dr. Hay has a BSc in Chemistry and PhD in Biochemistry from London University. In 1977, after five years as a postdoctoral fellow at one of London Zoo’s research institutes, he moved to the University of Leeds, initially to the animal physiology department and then, in 1979, to chemical pathology, before transferring in 1995 to the molecular epidemiology unit. In 2001, he took up the post of professor of environmental toxicology. Dr. Hay retired in 2015, but he retains a position at the university as professor (emeritus) of environmental toxicology.