Research

Research Approach

Broadly, my research experience in environmental toxicology interfaces human and environmental systems and draws upon methods and concepts from geographic information systems (GIS), biology, and toxicology to build a novel and interdisciplinary research approach that uses a unique geospatial-informed systems-biology framework to elucidate the effect of localized exposure to chemical mixtures on adverse health outcomes. More specifically, my research is focused on two distinct yet connected areas; 1) quantifying the internal and external exposome through the development and use of novel biomarkers of exposure and effects within a geospatial framework, and 2) connecting real-world exposures to chemical mixtures with adverse outcomes using systems biology approaches. I use open-source platforms, such as R, Python, and QGIS, and use GitHub to support the reproducibility of my research.

Research Highlights

Research Scientist – Computational Toxicology Research Group, Health Canada

Ongoing research Project:

• Physiological modeling of the immune response to polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants associated with a range of adverse health outcomes, including immune dysfunction. Despite growing epidemiological and experimental evidence linking PFAS exposure to altered immune responses, major gaps remain in understanding how external exposure translates to internal dose, immune perturbation, and ultimately human health risk. Addressing these gaps requires approaches that are both mechanistically informative and ethically responsible. This project applies a translational toxicology framework grounded in the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) by integrating in vivo, in vitro, and in silico methodologies to quantify PFAS-induced immunological effects and improve human health risk prediction. Rather than relying on a single experimental system, the project is designed to generate complementary data streams that inform and refine one another. The in vivo component uses targeted mouse studies to characterize PFAS-induced changes in immune cell populations, immune function, and tissue-specific molecular responses across relevant exposure levels and time points. These studies are explicitly designed to minimize animal use while generating data essential for model calibration and cross-system translation. The in vitro component employs mechanistically relevant immune and hepatic cell-based assays to investigate PFAS-associated immune endpoints under controlled exposure conditions. These assays support the refinement of animal studies, enable higher-throughput testing, and provide human-relevant biological insight consistent with 3Rs objectives. The in silico component integrates experimental data into physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) and immune-response modeling frameworks to link external exposure to internal target-site concentrations and downstream immunological effects. These models are used to support quantitative extrapolation across doses, exposure durations, and biological systems, with the ultimate goal of improving human health risk assessment. Collectively, this project aims to establish a cohesive, ethical, and quantitatively robust framework for evaluating PFAS immunotoxicity. By coupling experimental and computational approaches, it advances mechanistic understanding while reducing reliance on animal testing and strengthening the translation of toxicological evidence to human health decision-making.
  1. PFOS and PFOA exposure induces liver injury and sex-dependent immune effects in C57BL/6 mice (Blais and Loan et al., 2026)
  2. A Novel Phase Extraction (SPE) Method to Quantify 21 Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds in Biological Samples (Guo et al., 2026)

• Advancing Risk Assessment of Exposure to Complex Chemical Mixtures: This project will study the potential environmental and human health risks of chemical mixtures found in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR). The AOSR is known for its extraction and processing of bitumen, which releases complex chemical mixtures into the environment, leading to potential human exposure. Of these mixtures, naphthenic acids (NAs) are a key chemical of public health concern due to their broad chemical diversity, persistence, and potential toxicity. Here, we will focus on commercially available NA mixtures, including metals and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), which are commonly found alongside NAs in the AOSR. In the first year, we will conduct lab-based experiments to better understand the rate and mode at which people might be exposed to these complex chemical mixtures. In the second year, we will use advanced scientific methods, including genetic and cellular analysis, to assess liver toxicity and understand how these chemicals affect human health. The third year will bring everything together in a case study, combining our new data with existing research on NA chemical mixtures. Our findings will help improve regulations and strategies for assessing and managing the risks of these complex chemical mixtures and contribute to determining acceptable exposure levels to protect human health.

• Painting the future of chemical safety: Uniting Cells, Data, and Insights to better inform risk assessment: This project has two main goals: (1) advancing scientific methods for studying how chemicals affect cells and (2) demonstrating how these improved methods can be used for regulatory decision-making in chemical risk assessment. We will focus on improving laboratory and computational techniques to study chemical effects on cells. Specifically, we will refine high-throughput phenotypic profiling methods, including Cell Painting (a high-content imaging technique) and transcriptomics (which measures gene activity). By optimizing these approaches, we aim to develop better models that more accurately predict how chemicals impact biological systems. At the same time, we will apply these improved methods to assess chemical safety and guide risk assessment decisions. We will compare data from different cell models and profiling techniques to determine the best ways to interpret and use this information. Our goal is to show how these tools can improve the identification of hazardous chemicals. By integrating modern scientific approaches into chemical testing, this project supports efforts to enhance regulatory decision-making while reducing reliance on traditional testing methods, including animal testing. The results will be shared through scientific publications and case studies demonstrating their practical value for regulatory agencies.

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Division of Translational Toxicology (DTT), National Institute of Environmental health Sciences (NIEHS)

At the NIEHS my research focused on the impact that exposure to environmental chemicals and mixtures have on human health and disease and how geospatial methods and geographic data can be used to better understand this relationship.

• A geospatial modeling approach to quantifying the risk of exposure to environmental chemical mixtures via a common molecular target (Eccles et al., 2023)
• Integrating Multiscale Geospatial Environmental Data into Large Population Health Studies: Challenges and Opportunities (Cui et al., 2022)
• Air pollutant mixtures and reported psoriasis or eczema in the Personalized Environment and Genes Study (PEGS) (Lowe et al., 2023)

Ph.D. Dissertation – University of Ottawa

My Ph.D. dissertation focused on improving risk assessments by integrating environmental monitoring and biomarker data to quantify spatial patterns of complex contaminant exposure and related concentration- effect patterns at a landscape scale using a geospatial framework. I developed fur as a novel biomarker medium by elucidating toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of chemical distribution and excretion and quantified biomarkers of exposure and effect in the fur of keystone species, and used a geospatial framework to identify environmental sources, exposures, and effects of environmental contaminants.

Postdoctoral Fellowship – University of Toronto Mississauga

During my postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto, I used paleoecotoxicology methods to establish historical baselines for contaminant exposures and biological effects. One of the fundamental challenges in biomonitoring is the lack of information available on historical baselines of exposures and effects. This type of information is essential for setting target recoveries for contaminated sites and monitoring the effectiveness of implemented interventions. Tree rings and sediment cores have the potential to improve our quantitative understanding of historical concentrations of environmental contaminants and evaluate the efficacy of regulatory actions (i.e. Minamata Convention), contaminant concentrations in environmental compartments and food webs, and to evaluate the exposure risks in human and wildlife.

• Using sediment cores to reconstruct mining related deposition in Yellowknife, NWT, Canada (Cheney et al., 2020 and Cheney et al., 2024)
• Paleotoxicity of petrogenic and pyrogenic hydrocarbon mixtures in sediment cores (Thomas et al., 2022)
• Using tree-rings to reconstruct historical Hg concentrations in Yukon, Canada (Eccles et al., 2020)