Professor Jane Entwistle

Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor

School: Architecture and Built Environment

I graduated from the Institute of Earth Studies, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and gained my PhD from the same institution in 1994. Following a lectureship in Environmental Science at Kingston University, I moved to Northumbria University in 2000, becoming Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences in 2008 (until 2017). In 2016 was awarded the title of Professor of Environmental Geochemistry and Health. Following posts as Faculty research lead (2018-2021) and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education (2022-2024), I'm currently interim Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering and Environment.

I’m a Fellow of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health, and on the steering group of the North-East Contaminated Land Forum which facilitates interaction between academics, practioners and regulators. My research is interdisciplinary and many of my projects involve collaboration with specialists from the UK Health and Safety Executive, UK Health Security Agency, British Geological Survey and the Environment Agency to promote evidence-informed policy-making in human exposure science.

I'm currently PI on In2Air, an NIHR funded study (2024-2027) working in partnership with the local authority to investigate the impact of making homes more energy efficient on the health and wellbeing of residents across Tyne and Wear.

In 2025, as lead project partner on the UKRI cross research council funded ECLIPS project, we launch a new study to improve the way we monitor and test for lead poisoning in children.

I’m also co-founder of DustSafe and the NERC-funded Home Biome project, a global research initiative to obtain baseline data on chemicals and microbial communities in regular households via a global community science-academic partnership (see mapmyenvironment.com). Prior to this I was co-investigator on the Newcastle Allotments Biomonitoring Study.

Campus Address

EB B313

Email Jane

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My research addresses problems at the interface between geochemistry and human health and evidences my commitment to improve environmental practice, policy and decision making in a complex real-world environment. I’m interested in understanding our exposure to environmental pollutants, such as in soils, dusts and air, and ways to reduce this exposure. My involvement in environmental geochemistry extends over 25 years and principally focusses on our exposure to harmful chemicals in the environment, particulary the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of metals and metalloids.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Predictive modeling of indoor dust lead concentrations: Sources, risks, and benefits of intervention, Dietrich, M., Barlow, C., Entwistle, J., Meza-Figueroa, D., Dong, C., Gunkel-Grillon, P., Jabeen, K., Bramwell, L., Shukle, J., Wood, L., Naidu, R., Fry, K., Taylor, M., Filippelli, G. 15 Feb 2023, In: Environmental Pollution
International Analysis of Sources and Human Health Risk Associated with Trace Metal Contaminants in Residential Indoor Dust, Isley, C., Fry, K., Liu, X., Filippelli, G., Entwistle, J., Martin, A., Kah, M., Meza-Figueroa, D., Shukle, J., Jabeen, K., Famuyiwa, A., Wu, L., Sharifi-Soltani, N., Doyi, I., Argyraki, A., Ho, K., Dong, C., Gunkel-Grillon, P., Aelion, C., Taylor, M. 18 Jan 2022, In: Environmental Science & Technology
An apple a day? Assessing gardeners’ lead exposure in urban agriculture sites to improve the derivation of soil assessment criteria, Entwistle, J., Amaibi, P., Dean, J., Deary, M., Medock, D., Morton, J., Rodushkin, I., Bramwell, L. 1 Jan 2019, In: Environment international
Characterising the ground level concentrations of harmful organic and inorganic substances released during major industrial fires, and implications for human health, Griffiths, S., Entwistle, J., Kelly, F., Deary, M. 1 Apr 2022, In: Environmental International
Environmental microbiome in the home and daycare settings during the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential risk of non-communicable disease in children, McKay, J., Crown, M., Bashton, M., Pearce, D., Entwistle, J., Sangal, V. Feb 2024, In: Environmental Microbiology Reports
A study of particulate emissions during 23 major industrial fires: implications for human health, Griffiths, S., Chappell, P., Entwistle, J., Kelly, F., Deary, M. 16 Mar 2018, In: Environment international
Development and application of an inhalation bioaccessibility method for lead in the <10 um size fraction (PM10), Boisa, N., Bird, G., Dean, J., Elom, N., Entwistle, J. Jul 2013, 29th International Conference of Society of Environmental Geochemistry and Health
Use of simulated epithelial lung fluid in assessing the human health risk of Pb in urban street dust, Dean, J., Elom, N., Entwistle, J. 1 Feb 2017, In: Science of the Total Environment