Fall 2020 Seminar Series (ENV 847-S/PHARM 847-S)
Duke Integrated Toxicology & Environmental Health Program
Friday, November 6, 2020, 12:00 – 1:15 pm
*Live Zoom Presentation. Register HERE to receive Zoom link!*
ALEXANDRA NOËL, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences
School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University
Pronouns: She / Her / Hers
Contributions of in utero second-hand smoke and electronic-cigarette aerosol exposures on lung development and diseases
Second-hand smoke (SHS) is a main indoor air pollutant and a major public health concern. Increasing epidemiological evidence shows that similarly to active smoking during pregnancy, in utero exposures to SHS can affect the fetal development and result in adverse effects ranging from low birth weight to increased disease susceptibility in adulthood. In contrast, very little is known about the effects of electronic-cigarette (e-cig) aerosol on pregnancy outcomes and on the respiratory health of neonates. Given the rising use of e-cigs and involuntary exposures to SHS among young adults, including women of reproductive age, we asked whether in utero SHS or e-cig aerosol exposure influences lung development and susceptibility to develop respiratory diseases as adults. In this seminar, these two contaminants will be discussed in regard to their pulmonary effects following in utero exposures.
BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Alexandra Noël received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences, her master’s in Occupational and Environmental Health, as well as her PhD in Public Health, with a specialization in Toxicology and Risk Assessment, all from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Montreal (Quebec, Canada). Her PhD research on nanotoxicology focused on the generation and characterization of aerosols composed of nanoparticles, as well as on the pulmonary effects induced by those inhaled nanoparticles. Her post-doctoral training at Louisiana State University (LSU) further complemented her expertise related to inhalation toxicology of environmental pollutants, which included cigarette second-hand smoke and combustion-derived ultrafine particles. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences of the School of Veterinary Medicine at LSU. She conducts inhalation toxicology studies on cardio-pulmonary effects of in utero and adult exposures to second-hand smoke, electronic cigarette aerosols and nanoparticles. Her publication record includes 18 peer-reviewed scientific
articles that generated over 150 citations, and more than 70 oral and poster presentations at national and international scientific conferences. Dr. Noël’s laboratory is presently funded by the NIEHS and the NHLBI to conduct research on electronic-cigarette aerosols and cardio-pulmonary toxicity in vitro and in vivo. In addition, Dr. Noël is the leader of the Inhalation Toxicology Core of the LSU Superfund Research Program. She also serves on the Membership Committee of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) (2018-2021), she is the 2020-2021 Vice-President of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) South-Central Regional Chapter, and she was the chair of the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Lung Development Injury & Repair that was held in August 2017.