Research directions
Research area
Our research activities cover a wide range of environmental and occupational health determinants. Trained as an engineer and specialist in exposure sciences, I am particularly interested in physical and chemical pollutants and their risks to human health. With my team, I strive to identify the hazards associated with the emergence of new technologies or substances, to understand the interactions between different pollutants, to quantify their exposure and, as far as possible, their risks. My research activities focus on three main themes:
- Cutaneous exposure to chemical and physical agents. In the case of chemicals, the aim is to assess the contribution of the cutaneous route (ex vivo) to the incorporation of chemical substances. With regard to physical agents, my work focuses in particular on assessing cutaneous exposure to solar UV (modeling, in situ measurements).
- Airborne exposure to chemical and physico-chemical agents. The inhalation of vapors and aerosols is well known, but still poses major prevention problems. One of these is the predictive modeling of these exposures using in silico models (physical or statistical).
- Interactions between particulate pollutants and their environment, particularly in terms of the oxidative stress induced in the body.
Implementation
The experimental, ex vivo and modelling techniques used within the department contribute to assessing the health risks of pollutants encountered in our general, domestic and occupational environments. This applied research enables the construction of methods and benchmarks essential to primary prevention, and provides scientific support for public decision-making. Active projects, or those starting up in 2024, include :
- The development of tools for assessing multiple exposures to chemical pollutants (e.g. percutaneous, ingestion, inhalation)
- Measurement of oxidative stress induced by inhalation of fine particles
- Assessment of heat stress related to heat waves
- Modeling ocular exposure to solar radiation
- exposure to dioxin pollution, following soil contamination in the Lausanne region
- Environmental impact of COVID testing
- Assessment of the health benefits of greening urban spaces
