Élyse Caron-Beaudoin

Biography

Élyse Caron-Beaudoin is an Assistant Professor in environmental health in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Her research is focused on the development of transdisciplinary community-based research projects to assess the impacts of anthropogenic pressures on health by combining information across multiple levels of biological organization. Dr. Caron-Beaudoin holds a PhD in biology with a specialization in toxicology from the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique – Armand-Frappier Health and Biotechnology Centre. From 2018 to 2020, she completed a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the Université de Montreal. During her fellowship, Dr. Caron-Beaudoin investigated the associations between density and proximity to oil and gas wells and birth outcomes in Northeastern British Columbia. She is currently leading multiple projects including on 1) exposure to environmental contaminants associated with unconventional natural gas operations during pregnancy; 2) mechanisms of toxicity (e.g., endocrine disruption, oxidative stress) associated with exposure to these contaminants; 3) associations between proximity to oil and gas wells and various health outcomes in British Columbia and in Ontario; 4) the role of airborne microbes and pollutants in the inflammatory response of asthma in Northern and Southern Canada; 5) the development of sex-specific co-culture cellular models of the human airway for application in toxicity screening.

Education

PhD, biology, specialization in toxicology (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Armand-Frappier)

MSc, biology, specialization in environmental toxicology (Université du Québec à Montréal)

BSc, biology, specialization in environmental health (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Affiliations

Graduate Cross-Appointment, Department of Environmental and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough

Graduate Cross-Appointment, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Graduate Cross-Appointment, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Toronto

Associate researcher, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute

Associate researcher, Population Health and Optimal Health Practices, CHU de Québec Research Center, Université Laval

Teaching Interests

Environmental contaminants, vulnerability and toxicity

Pathophysiology

Research Interests

Toxicology

Molecular biology

Public and environmental health

Community-based research

Exposure assessment and biomonitoring

Awards and Grants

Selected Grants:

Data Sciences Institute Catalyst Grant, Is there an association between exposure to unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) and exacerbations of asthma in Northeastern British Columbia? (2023-2025, Principal Investigator)

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada NOVA Program, There’s something in the air: disentangling the role of airborne microbes and pollutants in the inflammatory response of asthma along a latitudinal gradient in Canada (2022-2025, co-Principal Investigator)

University of Toronto XSeed Program, Quantifying environmental exposure to contaminants emitted by hydraulic fracturing in Northeastern British Columbia (2021-2023, co-Principal Investigator)

Northern Contaminants Program, Elevated exposure to perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in Nunavimmiut adults: determinants of exposure and harmful effects on the immune system and respiratory health (2021-2024, co-Principal Investigator)

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant, Gestational exposure to chemicals related to hydraulic fracturing and their endocrine disrupting potential in Northeastern British Columbia (2019-2023, co-Principal Investigator)

The Lloyd Jones Collins Foundation, Is there an association between exposure to hydraulic fracturing (HF) and exacerbations of asthma in Northeastern British Columbia (BC)? (2020-2021, co-Investigator)

Northern Contaminants Program, Exposure to food chain contaminants in Nunavik : biomonitoring in adult and youth cohorts of the Qanuilirpitaa survey (Year 3) (2019-2020, co-Investigator)

Selected Awards:

Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology Young Investigator Award (2020)

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2019-2020)

Relève Étoile Award, Fonds de Recherche Québec – Santé (2018)

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Fonds de Recherche Santé – Québec (2017-2018)

Doctoral fellowship, Armand-Frappier Foundation (2015-2016)

Doctoral Fellowship, Fonds de Recherche Nature et Technologies – Quebec (2014-2015)

Publications

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:

• Caron-Beaudoin, É., Whyte, K. P., Bouchard, M. F., Chevrier, J., Haddad, S., Copes, R., Frohlich, KL., Dokkie, D., Treaty 8 Tribal Association, Juul, S., Bouchard, M. and Verner, MA. (2021). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air and tap water samples in residences of pregnant women living in an area of unconventional natural gas operations: Findings from the EXPERIVA study. Science of The Total Environment, 150242.
• Caron-Beaudoin, É., Whitworth, K. W., Bosson-Rieutort, D., Wendling, G., Liu, S., & Verner, M. A. (2020). Density and proximity to hydraulic fracturing wells and birth outcomes in Northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 1-9.
• Caron-Beaudoin, É., Bouchard, M., Wendling, G., Barroso, A., Bouchard, M. F., Ayotte, P., ... & Verner, M. A. (2019). Urinary and hair concentrations of trace metals in pregnant women from Northeastern British Columbia, Canada: a pilot study. Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 29(5), 613-623.
• Caron-Beaudoin, É., Ayotte, P., Sidi, E. A. L., of Nutashkuan, C. T. K., McHugh, N. G. L., & Lemire, M. (2019). Exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and associations with thyroid parameters in First Nation children and youth from Quebec. Environment international, 128, 13-23.
• Caron-Beaudoin, É., & Armstrong, C. G. (2019). Biomonitoring and ethnobiology: Approaches to fill gaps in indigenous public and environmental health. Journal of Ethnobiology, 39(1), 50-64.
• Caron-Beaudoin, É., Viau, R., & Sanderson, J. T. (2018). Effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on promoter-specific aromatase (CYP19) expression in Hs578t breast cancer cells and the role of the VEGF pathway. Environmental health perspectives, 126(4), 047014.
• Caron-Beaudoin, É., Valter, N., Chevrier, J., Ayotte, P., Frohlich, K., & Verner, M. A. (2018). Gestational exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Northeastern British Columbia, Canada: a pilot study. Environment International, 110, 131-138.
• Caron-Beaudoin, E., Viau, R., Hudon-Thibeault, A. A., Vaillancourt, C., & Sanderson, J. T. (2017). The use of a unique co-culture model of fetoplacental steroidogenesis as a screening tool for endocrine disruptors: The effects of neonicotinoids on aromatase activity and hormone production. Toxicology and applied pharmacology, 332, 15-24.
• Caron-Beaudoin, É., Denison, M. S., & Sanderson, J. T. (2016). Effects of neonicotinoids on promoter-specific expression and activity of aromatase (CYP19) in human adrenocortical carcinoma (H295R) and primary umbilical vein endothelial (HUVEC) cells. Toxicological Sciences, 149(1), 134-144.