This year's Conference and AGM will be centred around the theme Brighter Future: Towards the Health and Well-Being of All. We will kick off the meeting with two short course offerings on Thursday, June 13th (see below for more information). On Friday June 14th, get ready for an action-packed day filled with platform and poster presentations from LSETAC students and members, along with a student networking event.
The AGM will be taking place in person at McMaster University's David Braley Health Sciences Centre (DBHSC), located at 100 Main St W (across from City Hall). Early registration will be open until May 1st, 2024. After which, increased registration fees will apply.
If you wish to present at the AGM, please submit an abstract with your registration (abstract submission open until May 1st, 2024).
Active Laurentian SETAC Members:
Before registering for the Conference and AGM, please register an account on our website using the “LSETAC Members Portal” link at the top left and then proceed with registration. If you have an active membership, we will update your account settings with your membership information. From that point forward, you will be able to track your membership status using the Members Portal.
We cannot wait to welcome our plenary speaker Dr. Darren Thomas (Wilfred Laurier University) on June 14th. This conversation will examine historic Crown-Indigenous relations with a focus on a new evolving Indigenous rights framework. For more information about the plenary, please refer to the link above.
On Thursday, June 13th, LSETAC is offering two short courses:
Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
9 am to 12 pm, David Braley Health Sciences Centre, Hamilton
Instructor: Dr. Jessica D'eon (University of Toronto)
Join us for an environmental chemistry primer with Dr. Jessica D'eon (University of Toronto) aimed at non-experts from biology and engineering that will provide participants with an appreciation for the role of chemistry in their environmental research. The course will:
Cover chemical partitioning and relevant chemical transformations.
Discuss chemical partitioning including bioavailability, bioaccumulation, chemical exposure, and environmental distribution.
Discuss chemical transformations including typical chemical reactions in the atmosphere, water, and biological systems.
This introductory workshop is geared towards self-identified non-chemists looking to develop an appreciation for chemistry in their research, learn about other aspects of science, and gain new skills, but all are welcome!
Introduction to Conceptual Site Models and Problem Formulations
1 pm to 5 pm, David Braley Health Sciences Centre, Hamilton
Instructors: Andrea Amendola (Ecometrix Inc.) and Dr. Lara Alves Beese (Dillon Consulting Ltd.)
This short course will introduce the Problem Formulation, the first step of a Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment. The Problem Formulation provides the objectives, framework and approach for the risk assessment. It identifies the contaminants of concern (COC), the human and/or ecological receptors, and the exposure pathways by which the receptors may be exposed to the COCs. The goal of the Problem Formulation is to develop a Conceptual Site Model (CSM) that summarizes and illustrates these relationships. The Problem Formulation is the blueprint for the risk assessment.
This course will be a mix of lectures and breakout case exercises to help students apply the concepts. The first part of the course will focus on the Human Health Problem Formulation, while the second part of the course will focus on the Ecological Problem Formulation. Many of the concepts discussed in this course will be relevant to the Ontario Regulation 153/04 Risk Assessment Framework.
This short course is ideal for students, new graduates, and early career professionals in the fields of environmental toxicology, chemistry, and risk assessment.
On June 13, following the short courses, head over to Anchor Bar Hamilton at 6:30 pm for a Pub Night science talk from Dr. Emily Choy (McMaster University) "From heart rate to heat stress: monitoring the direct and indirect effects of climate change and pollutants to Arctic seabirds." For more information about the pub night, please refer to the link above.