A paper co-authored by Dr. Jonathan Chevrier, Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, was recently awarded the Honorable Mention for Best Environmental Epidemiology Paper of the Year by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE). The paper tackles an intricate problem in the fight against malaria, suggesting that prenatal exposure to insecticides used for indoor residual spraying used to control this disease may be associated with altered child neurodevelopment. The award was presented during the ISEE conference held August 25-28, 2019 in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
The paper, “Prenatal exposure to DDT and pyrethroids for malaria control and child neurodevelopment,” stems from an international collaboration between Canada, the United States and South Africa. Originally co-led by Dr. Brenda Eskenazi and Dr. Chevrier while they were both at the University of California, Berkeley, the latter has led the project as principal investigator since joining McGill in 2014.
A Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health report estimated that pollution is responsible for nine million deaths annually, more than three times the number of deaths due to malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. About 92% of pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, very little attention (including limited funding for research and prevention) is given to the impact of pollution on health in these countries.
“Receiving this award represents a great honour,” says Dr. Chevrier, who also holds a Canada Research Chair in Environmental Health Sciences. “Not only does it recognize the years of work conducted by our wonderful team of staff and investigators, but it also highlights the need to pay more attention to questions of environmental health in low- and middle-income countries.”
This prestigious award recognizes excellence in environmental epidemiology based on quality, originality, importance/impact and relevance to the field among all environmental epidemiology papers published in peer-reviewed journals in 2018.
Congratulations Dr. Chevrier!
October 2, 2019