Centre for Ecosystem Management
Research Week Seminar
Human Exposure to Environmental Contaminants:
Methods and Interventions
Thursday 18th September 2014 8.30-12.30
7.103 Edith Cowan University, Joondalup Campus
The Centre for Ecosystem Management is hosting a seminar to explore available
technologies and methods as well as their application for assessing human exposures
to environmental pollutants. The seminar is aimed at those who would like to learn
more about current approaches and the importance and application of human exposure
science from both an environmental and occupational perspective.
8.30am
Registration
9.00am
The importance of assessing human
exposures to environmental pollutants
A/Prof A Hinwood,
Development and Application of LUR to
Perth HIMs cohort
Application of numerical modelling tools
for estimating population exposure.
Prof Jane Heyworth
9.10am
9.40am
Centre for Ecosystem
Management, ECU
School Population Health UWA
Dr Martin Cope,
CSIRO
10.20
Morning Tea
10.40am
Personal Exposure Methods – the
occupational setting
A/Prof Sue Reed,
Biomarkers of Exposure
Dr Anna Callan,
11.00am
School of Exercise and Health
Science ECU.
School of Medical Sciences,
ECU
11.20
The development of new exposure
assessment methods
To be confirmed.
11.40
The application of exposure methods for
interventions
Dr Amanda Wheeler,
12.00
Centre for Ecosystem
Management ECU
Lunch
To register please contact Lisa Skepper: 08 6304 5725; e-mail: l.skepper@ecu.edu.au
About the Speakers
Andrea Hinwood: Andrea is the Head of School, School of Natural Sciences at Edith Cowan
University (ECU). She is an environmental scientist and has expertise in air pollution monitoring,
investigation, policy development and management. She has a Masters in Applied Chemistry from
RMIT and a PhD in Environmental Epidemiology from Monash University. A/Prof Hinwood has been
engaged in assessing community exposure to air pollutants, and has worked on a range of projects
including investigation of the relationship between air pollution and children’s respiratory symptoms,
personal exposure to volatile organic compounds, and characterising emissions from specific sources.
Jane Heyworth: Professor Jane Heyworth is the Sub Dean ( Undergraduate majors) in the Faculty of
Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Western Australia. She is well known for
her work in environmental epidemiology and her specific research interests are in environmental
causes of chronic diseases and water quality and health. . She has a PhD from Flinders University and a
Masters of Public Health from the University of Adelaide. She has 78 publications in the field of
environmental health and is the Chief investigator of the Health in Men and Air Quality (HIMAQs)
NHMRC project. She regularly participates in National and International forums to address
environmental health issues including air quality.
Martin Cope: Dr Martin Cope is a Principal Research Scientist in the Centre for Australian Climate
and Weather Research where he has been working on models of atmospheric chemical transport
(CTMs) and population exposure since 1998. This has included the development of methods for
blending air quality observations and CTM output to generate optimal exposure fields for
epidemiological studies. He is widely published and is a chief investigator on the HIMAQs project
providing input in all exposure assessment activities.
Sue Reed: Sue is an Associate Professor in Public Health at Edith Cowan University (ECU) where she
is the Course Coordinator for the Postgraduate programs in Occupational Hygiene and Occupational
Health and Safety. Sue has over 35 years experience as a researcher and practitioner in occupational
hygiene in which she has been involved in the development and analysis of air monitoring results for a
number of health studies in a range of industries. In addition she has been involved at looking at
standards relating to indoor air quality and the development of a new method to monitor skin exposure
to chemicals. She has authored or co-authored over 40 papers and conference presentations and
currently supervises a number of PhD students.
Anna Callan: Anna Callan completed her BSc (Hons), MRes and PhD in Biochemistry in Manchester.
She has worked as a post doctoral research fellow at the University of Manchester in the UK, Telethon
Institute for Child Health Research and School of Natural Sciences, ECU. She is now a lecturer in the
School of Medical Sciences at ECU. Her research work is focussed on measuring exposure to metals,
plasticisers and persistent organic pollutants and assessing the health impacts of exposure with a focus
on vulnerable groups in society; older Australians, pregnant women and children.
Amanda Wheeler: Dr Amanda Wheeler is a researcher with over 15 years of expertise in the
fields of human exposure to environmental contaminants, air pollution health effects and
environmental epidemiology. She joined the School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University
as a Senior Research Fellow in August 2013 and prior to this, was a lead Research Scientist with
Health Canada during which she was responsible for the design and implementation of 14
population and community- based research studies. These included personal exposures to air
pollution from residential and ambient sources, monitoring and modelling of intra-urban
variability of air pollutants, and the development and application of biomarkers to understand
exposures of vulnerable populations including children and pregnant women.