Barbara Hales, Ph.D. (PI)
I have played a leadership role in a number of CIHR team grants, served as Director of the International Union of Toxicology Societies and as President of the Society of Toxicology of Canada and of the Teratology Society. I co-edited a Teratology Society “Primer”, designed to answer everyday questions about birth defects and their causes. I served on a working group of the Canadian Congenital Anomalies Surveillance Network (Public Health Agency of Canada) and am currently Co-Chair of the Chemical Management Plan Science Committee and a member of the recently appointed NAS Committee on Endocrine-Related Low Dose Toxicity.
The overall goal of research in my own lab is to elucidate the mechanisms(s) by which chemical exposures induce developmental and reproductive toxicity. Birth defects occur in 2-4% of liveborn babies worldwide. The rate of infertility in Canada has nearly doubled since 1992; today up to 16% of heterosexual couples in which the woman is 18-to-44 experience infertility. Yet the etiologies of most malformations (≥ 60%) and of this increase in infertility are unknown. We investigate the mechanisms by which in utero exposure to environmental chemicals or model drugs disrupts development, with the possibility of long term adverse effects. We utilize in vivo and in vitro/ex vivo models to elucidate the key pathways and targets associated with the adverse effects of chemicals on development and reproduction. Our research has resulted in over 130 high quality articles in leading journals in toxicology, birth defects research and reproduction.