Dr. Anna Gergely

Director, EHS Regulatory

• agergely@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Brussels Office

Dr. Anna Gergely is Director EHS Regulatory of the international law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP, based in Brussels. In a role equivalent to partner, Anna is the firm’s Principal Scientist, with a PhD in analytical chemistry and quantum chemistry, and is a registered European patent attorney.  

Anna’s practise covers the well established legal and regulatory practices of Steptoe in areas of chemicals including the REACH Regulation, agro-biotechnology, biocides, cosmetics, food and feed, food contact materials, medical devices and a range of consumer and industrial products, providing comprehensive capabilities for companies seeking compliance strategies that cover the full range of their technical and legal needs.  

In addition to the above areas, Anna specialises in nanotechnologies as related to a broad spectrum of industrial sectors. Her involvement in this field ranges from scientific and patent considerations to issues of corporate regulatory compliance and regulatory governance.  

Anna chairs the Nanotechnologies Task Force of AmCham EU and the Regulation Working Group of NANOfutures, a flagship project sponsored by the European Commission. She is the co-author of several articles and book chapters discussing the regulatory oversight of the different applications of nanotechnologies. She has also been appointed as a member of the Scientific and Technical Council of the International Risk Governance Council, an independent organisation whose purpose is to help the understanding and management of emerging global risks that have impacts on human health and safety, the environment, the economy and society at large.  

Before joining Steptoe & Johnson, Anna spent nearly 15 years as scientific and regulatory advisor at other international law firms. Prior to that, she had an academic research career followed by an in-house researcher position at the Monsanto Chemical Company in Belgium. Through her academic and industry background and established career as a regulatory consultant, Anna has developed in-depth technical and legal knowledge of all the relevant regulatory areas and is widely recognised as a leading regulatory expert.

Noteworthy

• Recommended by Legal 500 EMEA 2011 for EU Regulatory: Environment, and Chemicals (REACH) 

Select News & Events

• Webinar on Global Food Contact Compliance: Special Focus on Nanotechnology, March 1, 2012, (A Steptoe-Sponsored Event)
• Food Contact Presentations on Transatlantic Issues, Plastics in Contact with Foodstuffs 2011, December 6, 2011
• Steptoe Broadens Food Safety Practice with Addition of FDA's Cheeseman and Simmons
• “Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology in the EU Regulatory Framework,” Annual ERA Conference on European Food Law 2011, November 21, 2011
• “EU Regulatory Landscape for Innovative Technologies,” IRGC 2011 Annual Event on Risk Governance, November 3, 2011
• “Regulatory Implications for Nanotechnology in Food Contact Plastics,” Food Contact Plastics, September 29, 2011
• “Nano Definitions – Which definition? Which Impact?,” Cefic Food Contact Additives General Assembly, September 22, 2011
• AmCham Connect Highlights Brussels Office
• Dr. Anna Gergely Explains the Importance of Nanotechnologies for the US and European Economies
• Dr. Anna Gergely Appointed by NANOfutures as a Chair of the Horizontal Activity Working Group on Regulation
• Dr. Anna Gergely Presents on Nanotechnology to New European Commissioner

Selected Publications

• Food Contact Materials Lie Within REACH
  February 2012, Chemical Watch
• Court Ruling on Food Contact Additive Sets New Precedents
  November 14, 2011, Chemical Watch
• Nano Analyst: European Commission Releases Long Awaited Definition for Nanomaterials
  October 18, 2011
• Where Is “Agronanotechnology” Heading in the United States and European Union?
  Volume 26, Number 1
  Summer 2011, Natural Resources & Environment
• Nano Analyst: US Government Issues Policy Framework for Regulation of Nanomaterials and Releases Two Regulatory Proposals for Comment
  June 15, 2011
• Nano Analyst: Inaugural Joint US-EU Workshop Sets the Stage for Future International Collaboration
  April 11, 2011
• Nano Analyst: What can be learned from EPA’s first nanosilver registration?
  March 3, 2011
• Nano Analyst: European Food Safety Authority Releases Initial Guidance on Risk Assessment of Food and Feed Applications of Nanotechnologies
  January 31, 2011

More Publications »

Professional Affiliations

• Chair of European Commission NANOfutures Regulation working group
• Chair of AmCham EU’s Nanotechnology Task Force
• Member of the IRGC’s Scientific and Technical Council
• Member, Scientific and Technical Council of the International Risk Governance Council
• Member, EuroScience (A European Association for the Production of Science and Technology)
• Member of Union, the European Association of Professional Representatives Before the European Patent Office
• Member, AmCham Agri-Food Committee