Environmental Science and Engineering Seminar

Anthropogenic, or human-caused, chemical pollution poses one of the largest threats to the environment and human health. Over the last few decades, the number of chemicals in global commerce has been estimated to range from 40,000 to >350,000 with only a few thousand chemicals having toxicology information. Since total chemical exposure is somewhat unknown from these estimates, we often rely on observed effects such as studies showcasing toxicant links to infertility, diseases, cognitive health, and food security. However, even after concerns have been raised, control measures to limit exposure are often not adopted at the rate needed to avoid chronic and acute effects on human health. An urgent need therefore exists to enable higher throughput and more comprehensive studies on chemical exposure to heighten global awareness about the overall risks posed by chemical usage, dispersal and disposal. This presentation will thus highlight how combining targeted and non-targeted metabolomic, lipidomic and exposomic analyses enable a deeper look into chemical exposure and the ensuing endogenous molecular responses.