About AXIS
AXIS Environmental Intelligence Group was founded to provide independent, scientifically grounded advisory support for complex environmental challenges requiring analytical rigor, balanced interpretation across disciplines, and defensible scientific evaluation.
The AXIS Approach
AXIS Environmental Intelligence Group approaches complex environmental and public health challenges through interdisciplinary, evidence based evaluation. Defensible environmental decision making requires more than isolated data points. It depends on analytical rigor, balanced interpretation across disciplines, transparent communication, and respect for the diverse perspectives that strengthen scientific understanding.
Meaningful scientific interpretation often requires integrating toxicological evidence, environmental and biomonitoring data, analytical chemistry, exposure science, regulatory frameworks, and technical literature to clarify what the available evidence can and cannot support. AXIS makes assumptions, analytical boundaries, uncertainty, and evidence strength explicit so that resulting conclusions remain scientifically defensible and appropriate to the client’s question and decision context.
This approach supports technical evidence synthesis, regulatory and toxicological interpretation, environmental data analysis and visualization, expert report review and rebuttal, legislative scientific advisory, and strategic scientific communication across legal, policy, public health, and stakeholder settings. Emerging contaminant matters frequently involve incomplete records, evolving toxicological understanding, chronic low dose exposure, and cumulative or mixed exposure conditions. AXIS evaluates those limitations directly without either overstating certainty or dismissing conclusions the available evidence can reasonably support.
A Commitment to Give Forward
AXIS is being built not only to expand access to rigorous scientific support, but also to create opportunities for others to enter and advance within the analytical and environmental sciences. As the practice grows, the long-term vision includes full-service analytical laboratory capabilities and paid, hands-on internship and training opportunities for aspiring scientists, particularly those from first-generation and low-income backgrounds.
Founder & Lead Scientist
Nicole M. Dennis, Ph.D., is the Founder and Lead Scientist of AXIS Environmental Intelligence Group. She is an environmental analytical chemist and toxicologist with expertise spanning PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern, exposure science, mixtures toxicology, biomonitoring, and UPLC-MS/MS method development. Her work integrates scientific literature, analytical data, regulatory frameworks, and technical records to clarify what complex evidence can and cannot support.
Dr. Dennis earned a dual-major B.S. in Biochemistry and Natural Resources Biology from Central Michigan University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from Texas Tech University. She completed an NIEHS postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Riverside, including designing and leading an EPA-funded biosolids use and food-crop security project. Dr. Dennis has led interdisciplinary research and advisory efforts, developed and validated UPLC-MS/MS methods, prepared scientific analyses for litigation, policy, and public-health contexts, and serves on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board. View Dr. Nicole Dennis’ CV.
Collaborating Scientific Experts
AXIS EIG collaborates with independent subject-matter experts when a project benefits from complementary scientific or technical expertise.
Steven Lasee, MS, Ph.D. is an environmental toxicologist with expertise in risk assessment, chemical fate and transport, exposure, and the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) chemical group. Dr. Lasee is the founder and principal scientist of Lasee Research & Consulting, where he has advised universities, companies, nonprofit organizations, and state and federal government agencies on PFAS and other environmental contaminant matters. He has authored scientific publications and book chapters addressing PFAS environmental behavior and exposure potential. His work focuses on understanding human and environmental exposure to toxicants and how they relate to illness.
Selected Scientific & Advisory Experience
Legislative Scientific Advisory
Prepared scientific analyses, legislative reports, briefing materials, and testimony addressing PFAS contamination, landfill leachate, biosolids applications, watershed protection, and environmental public-health concerns.
Representative Work:Legislative technical reports & briefing materialsLegislative testimony & public-facing scientific communicationPFAS public-health & regulatory interpretationWatershed, leachate, & biosolids contamination advisory
Technical Evidence Synthesis & Scientific Reporting
Integrated toxicity assessments, regulatory authorities, technical records, analytical results, and scientific literature into structured evaluations and defensible written products.
Representative Work:EPA toxicity-assessment & regulatory synthesisScientific literature & authority review
Technical evidence integration & interpretationComprehensive scientific reports & evidence summaries
Environmental Exposure & Health Interpretation
Evaluated environmental sampling results, exposure pathways, biomonitoring information, health records, and toxicological evidence to clarify contaminant-related public-health questions and evidentiary limitations.
Representative Work:Environmental exposure-pathway evaluation
Biomonitoring & health-record synthesis
Toxicological evidence interpretation
PFAS exposure & health-evidence evaluation
Public-health analysis & communication
Expert Rebuttal & Technical Review
Performed structured reviews of expert reports, scientific methods, assumptions, authority use, and inferential dependencies, and translated the resulting findings into rebuttal analyses and attorney-facing examination support.
Representative Work:Expert-report claim, citation, & authority review
Tracing expert conclusions to underlying assumptions, methods, & authorities to identify scientific vulnerabilities
Scientific rebuttal memorandum & full-report development
Scientific deposition & cross-examination support
Comparative technical evaluation of competing expert opinions
Environmental Data Analysis & Visualization
Compiled, harmonized, analyzed, and visualized environmental, biomonitoring, health, and regulatory datasets to clarify patterns, comparisons, uncertainty, and decision-relevant relationships.
Representative Work:Environmental dataset compilation & standardization
Statistical analysis & analytical trend interpretation
Scientific figure, table, & visual-summary development
Comparative environmental & biomonitoring evaluation
Decision-focused technical reporting
For a concise overview of AXIS EIG’s capabilities, technical focus areas, and selected experience, download the firm’s capability statement.
Contact
Connect with AXIS Environmental Intelligence Group, LLC to discuss an environmental, regulatory, public-health, or litigation matter requiring independent scientific analysis and strategic advisory support.