The link between air pollution exposure and its health effects is uncovered by epidemiologists and toxicologists working in concert. Epidemiologists investigate statistical associations between air pollution exposure and morbidity and mortality. Toxicologists investigate the pathology underlying these diseases, typically in animal models exposed to models of actual air pollution. Over the last couple of decades, we have taken a number of complementary approaches striving for realistic exposures in collaboration with toxicologists at UC Davis. In this talk, I will review some of these approaches, their strengths and weaknesses, and what we have learned about the toxicology of air pollution and its sources.

Presented by:

Anthony Wexler

Professor and Director

Dr. Wexler obtained his BS from UC Berkeley in Engineering Physics in 1976, SM in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1978, and PhD from Caltech in Mechanical Engineering in 1990. His research interests center on air pollutants, their concentration and dynamics in the atmosphere in both the gas and particle phases, and their health effects. Currently, he is director of the Air Quality Research Center and Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Land, Air and Water Resources at the University of California Davis. He has published over 200 peer reviewed papers in his career that are cited about 500 times per year.