McGill's Scott Weichenthal wins NSERC Brockhouse prize with cross-disciplinary, multi-institution team

A multidisciplinary team of researchers, including McGill's Scott Weichenthal, an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, has been awarded the Brockhouse Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). NSERC announced the prize today for the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR), which unites the talent of experts from engineering, environmental science, medicine, public health and government to study the sources and impacts of air pollution. Through innovative monitoring techniques and collaborating across disciplines, SOCAAR's work informs strategies to improve air quality in urban areas.

The prize recognizes outstanding Canadian teams of researchers from different disciplines who combine their knowledge and skills to produce excellent achievements in natural sciences and engineering.

As part of this group, Weichenthal has led a number of studies characterizing population exposures to traffic-related air pollutants. SOCAAR has developed some of the first models to estimate population exposures to ultrafine particles (small particles produced by combustion sources) and conducted some of the first epidemiological studies to estimate the health impacts of these exposures. Weichenthal has also lead a number of studies examining a new exposure metric called “particle oxidative potential,” which moves beyond the traditional assumption that all airborne particles are equally toxic. Several of the first studies incorporating this metric into epidemiological investigations including studies of cancer and cardiorespiratory outcomes were led by Weichenthal.

“I am thankful and honoured that NSERC has recognized our long-standing collaboration to address environmental pollutants and associated health risks in Canada," says Weichenthal. "Canadian researchers benefit greatly from NSERC's support of interdisciplinary collaborations. This is now more important than ever as many of the innovations we need to address climate change will occur at the intersection of disciplines. Each of us individually could not achieve what we have done as a collective team."

Working out of the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR), the team includes researchers from U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Arts & Science, as well as from the Ontario government. Members include:

• Greg Evans department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
• Jeff Brook, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
• Arthur Chan, department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
• Chung-Wai Chow, department of medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, UHN
• Miriam Diamond, department of earth sciences, Faculty of Arts & Science
• Marianne Hatzopoulou, department of civil and mineral engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
• Robert Healy of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
• Jim Wallace, department of mechanical and industrial engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
• Cheol-Heon Jeong, senior research associate, department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
• Jim Wallace, department of mechanical and industrial engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

“Those named on the award are just the tip of the iceberg,” says Greg Evans of the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto. “There are many others at U of T, in government, in industry and in NGOs or communities across Canada, not to mention more than 100 graduate and undergraduate students. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with such great people.”