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What is molecular toxicology?
Molecular toxicology continues to be one of the most rapidly growing fields requiring advanced scientific training. This interest reflects expanding public awareness of potential or perceived threats to our health posed by chemicals synthesized for consumption or released into the environment.
Molecular toxicologists investigate how, why and when chemicals cause harm to life, for example, by affecting cellular and molecular processes leading to cancer. We aim to:
- Determine chemicals' toxic properties, and understand how they disrupt biological processes
- Estimate the risks chemicals pose to organisms in different circumstances (this includes exposure assessment, hazard identification, dose-response analysis, and risk characterization)
- Advise society how to mitigate, control or prevent adverse effects of chemicals. This includes developing better tests and therapies for toxic chemicals and the conditions they cause.
- For example, some chemicals cause cancer and others can be used to treat it. Molecular toxicologists are investigating which chemicals are implicated in various cancers, what cellular and other processes they affect, and how to reduce or reverse their effects.
Faculty in the Molecular Toxicology graduate program are researching a wide range of chemicals and conditions, including:
- Dioxins
- Tobacco
- Pesticides
- Breast cancer
- Neurological disorders