Toxicology
Human activities over the past several centuries have not only profoundly modified the physical environment that we live in, but also the chemical environment, such that many chemical toxins are now ubiquitous throughout the Earth’s biosphere.
Toxicology is the study of how exposure to environmental agents, including complex mixtures of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, radiation, etc., adversely affects humans and other organisms. The totality of these exposures, and risk for adverse effects often vary over a person’s lifespan and with their socioeconomic status.
UCSC faculty are working on gaining a mechanistic understanding of how toxins and toxicants cause cellular and organismal injury, which is key to devising preventive therapeutic approaches for protecting human health.
Faculty
Donald Smith
Professor
Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology, Chemistry & Biochemistry
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Raquel Chamorro-Garcia
Assistant Professor
Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology
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