Majestic cedars and arbutus reach overhead as flocks of chickadees and juncos flitter about. The trail gravel crunches as you walk through Mystic Vale and admire the green foliage of the ferns around you.
This is UVic.
And then there’s the science…
Using a “Planetary Health” approach, our lab is a research hub that studies how pollutants affect organisms at the molecular level and develops innovative biomolecule-based tools for tracking promoting environmental and organismal health.
We apply our creativity on a broad range of cutting edge techniques including transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics within three themes: 1) investigation into the molecular basis of thyroid hormone action and its disruption by environmental contaminants, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products, 2) development and application of an antimicrobial peptide discovery platform as antibiotic alternatives to combat antimicrobial resistant pathogens, and 3) development and application of innovative minimally invasive methods including environmental DNA (eDNA) and environmental RNA (eRNA) for obtaining fish and wildlife health information as sentinels of ecosystem and organismal health.
Dr. CAREN HELBING
Professor
Dept. of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Ph.D. University of Western Ontario
B.Sc. (Hon.) University of Windsor
University of Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia, V8P 5C2
Room: 182 Petch Bldg.
Office: (250)721-6146
Lab: (250)721-7086
