Rate My Professor Miriam Diamond

Miriam L. Diamond is a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto, with cross-appointments to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences. She holds a PhD from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto, an MScEng in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University, and a BSc in Biology from the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on understanding chemical contaminants, including microplastics and flame retardants, from emissions through environmental transport to human and ecosystem exposure, employing mathematical modelling, sampling, analytical chemistry, and policy translation to develop strategies for reducing contaminants in indoor and urban environments.

Diamond has supervised over 100 researchers from undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows and has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed papers and chapters. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. She has served as co-chair of Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan Science Committee and Ontario’s Toxic Reduction Scientific Expert Panel, and currently holds roles including member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility, Earth Commissioner with Future Earth, Vice-Chair of the International Panel on Chemical Pollution, and Associate Chair of Graduate Studies in the Department of Earth Sciences (2021–2024). Diamond received the 2025 President’s Impact Award from the University of Toronto, the 2021 Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering from NSERC, and other honors such as the Lakey Award. Recent publications include studies on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in building products and fast food packaging, as well as analyses of chemical pollution and planetary boundaries.