The funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) through its CREATE (Collaborative Research and Training Experience) program will contribute to an innovative $4.7-million initiative to train a new class of professionals in demand by industry and government agencies.

“Canadians face an increasing number of potential health risks from environmental contaminants,” says U of S soil toxicologist and project leader Steve Siciliano.

“This program will establish a standardized, interdisciplinary training framework for risk assessment that brings together the disciplines of toxicology, public health and law and is unique in North America, if not in the world.”

The U of S is one of only 20 recipients of NSERC’s CREATE grants which aim to increase the job readiness of graduate students. There were initially 162 applications from universities across Canada.

The U of S-based Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA) program will train students as risk assessors who can help governments determine and regulate health and ecological hazards from potential contaminants and new products (such as lead in imported toys or bisphenol-a in household plastics). Assessor services are also needed by companies striving to minimize the impact of their activities on human and ecological health.

Over six years, the HERA program will enrol up to 60 PhD or JSD (doctor of juridical science) students from any Canadian institution for intensive, week-long courses at the U of S, on-line courses, and a Summer Institute of Risk. Graduates will be well-versed in the entire risk assessment process, which includes estimating, managing and communicating risk to the public.

Students will also receive a paid, four- to six-month internship with companies interested in hiring graduates with this expertise.

“Companies need risk assessors, and it’s really hard to find trained ones,” says Siciliano. “This will greatly increase the employability of our graduates.”

U of S Vice-President Research Karen Chad noted that HERA brings together two U of S areas of research priority—namely public health and environment—and that the risk assessment focus will complement the work of the new Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security that has recently been established at the U of S.

“This HERA program will build national capacity in interdisciplinary assessment of environmental health risks and provides a unique opportunity for PhD students to work with world-class researchers in toxicology, public
health and law,” she said.

In addition to U of S toxicologists Siciliano, Lalita Bharadwaj, John Giesy, and Markus Hecker, a group of professors from Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the University of Northern B.C. and the Royal
Military College are collaborating to offer courses and provide their expertise and training.

In addition to the $1.6-million from NSERC, U of S has committed $360,000 for student support. An additional $2.74 million is anticipated from industry partners and faculty research grants.

Students interested in applying can contact the U of S Toxicology Centre at: tox.centre@usask.ca More information is available at: http://www.usask.ca/toxicology

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Kris Foster
Communications Co-ordinator
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1806
kris.foster@usask.ca