The objective of Dr. Basu's program is to research, develop and apply ecosystem-based approaches to address key problems in the environmental health sciences. The focus is on applying environmental toxicology and exposure assessment to increase understanding of risks associated with contaminants arising from the extraction of natural resources. Key to this approach is the ability to scrutinize and integrate data across species in a comparative manner (i.e. humans along with fish, birds, marine and terrestrial mammals) and to scale responses across multiple tiers of biological organization in an integrative fashion (e.g. cell --> individual --> ecosystem). In doing so, our program has developed multi-disciplinary research and communication skills that enable us to engage with and link together ecological scientists, biomedical researchers, and human health practitioners.
The ultimate goal of our program is to conduct excellent research in the broader fields of ecosystem health (environmental toxicology) and human health (exposure science and epidemiology) such that outputs may be effectively disseminated to diverse stakeholders (e.g., students, policy makers, scientists, community partners) and lead to public health actions and policies that contribute to improve environmental quality and human health in Canada and internationally.
