The Pollution and Health Hallmark Research Initiative aims to develop a research program for environmental pollutant monitoring and health impact assessment
About
This nationally important and multidisciplinary research initiative will foster Australian expertise necessary to meet the chemical health threats facing 21st century Australia.
Our team will use advanced analytical chemistry and multi-omic* technologies to measure pollution-related health risks in sentinel populations, interlinking toxicity testing for novel chemicals to provide evidence to prevent or reduce harmful exposures.
Ultimately, our aim is to lower the burden of illness caused by pollution.
Our work will focus on a comprehensive biomonitoring and pollution assessment program that will result in:
- Important advances in sample collection, novel substance identification, toxicology, data collection and storage
- Greater access to pollution data to inform future research and policy
- Increased accessibility of sample collection methods to reach vulnerable and difficult to reach communities
- Significant progress towards ensuring preventative and proactive action against environmental pollutants in the Australian community.
In time, it is envisaged that the research approach from the Pollution and Health HRI will provide a real-time fingerprint of potential pollutants and their impact on processes in the body. We aim to give a high-dimensional picture of the toxin and how it interacts with biological processes to influence disease. Our work aims to create comprehensive workflows for pollution biomonitoring and early detection of detrimental health impacts such as infertility, cancer and other health impairments in the Australian community.
*Multi-omic data sets are multiple "omes", such as the genome, proteome, transcriptome, epigenome, metabolome, and microbiome
Research themes
The Pollution and Health HRI biomonitoring and assessment program incorporates three interlinking themes:
1. Data driven solutions
Understanding and correlating chemical exposure with health impact involves coupling analytical chemistry for pollutant quantification with measures of health. The first theme of our research focuses on using advanced techniques to identify new pollutants and understand their effects on health. This will be achieved by measuring pollutants with high-precision tools, discovering unknown substances, analysing complex data, and securely managing this information.
2. Understanding toxicity mechanisms
We aim to enhance our understanding of chemical safety in Australia by developing novel methods for toxicology evaluation. We're focusing on advancing technologies like microfluidics and biosensors to better evaluate the toxicity of emerging pollutants such as microplastics, per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), industrial chemicals and various endocrine disruptors that interfere with our body's hormonal systems. In addition, we are working on developing 'organ-on-a-chip' methods, which are innovative ways to recreate interactions between human tissues and how long-term exposure to pollutants affects these biological functions. This approach will allow us to more accurately mimic real-world exposure scenarios and assess the potential health impacts of new chemical compounds found in the environment.
3. Exposure and risk assessment
In our third theme, we aim to better understand how chemicals affect health. We plan to measure the levels of pollutants in human samples like blood and urine and from personal silicone wristband monitors. This will help us build a system for monitoring pollutants in Australia and spot health risks early. Our goal is to find connections between new chemical exposures and health effects in Australians. This information will guide policies and actions to reduce contact with harmful environmental pollutants.
People
INITIATIVE CHAIR: Professor Matthew Watt
Professor of Health Sociology, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Head of Department of Anatomy and Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Watt's expertise covers matabolism, inter-tissue communication, metabolic diseases, and the liver.
ACADEMIC CONVENOR: Dr Brad Clarke (Theme 1 leader)
School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Dr Clarke's expertise covers pollutants measurement, analytical chemistry, and risk assessment.
STEERING COMMITTEE:
Professor Alastair Stewart (Theme 2 Leader)
Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Stewart’s expertise covers toxicology and pharmacology.
Associate Professor Caroline Lodge (Theme 3 Leader)
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Associate Professor Lodge’s expertise covers epidemiology, neonatal PFAS and parabens.
Dr Liz Bromfield
School of Bioscience, Faculty of Science
Dr Bromfield’s expertise covers sperm development and function, and environmental causes of human infertility.
Professor Howard Bondell
Head of School of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science
Professor Bondell’s expertise covers statistical modelling, and machine learning applications.
Professor Richard Sinnott
School of Computing and Information Systems, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
Professor Sinnott’s expertise covers development of platforms to support clinical research data and systems.
Associate Professor Robyn Schofield
Associate Dean of Environment and Sustainability – Faculty of Science
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Associate Professor Schofield’s expertise covers modelling urban air quality, indoor airborne transmission, ozone formation aerosols and climate interactions.
Contact us
To get in touch with the academic convenor Dr Bradley Clarke
Brad.clarke@unimelb.edu.au
+61 3 9035 3070
First published on 1 May 2024.
Share this article