Podcast

Dealing with mercury in food

PhD student, Catherine Girard, studies the impact of mercury in country food in the North
Institution(s)
Université de Montréal
Province(s)
Quebec
Topic(s)
Microbiology
Toxicology
Catherine Girard poses with line drawing illustrations around her.

At the Université de Montréal, Catherine Girard analyzes gut bacteria to understand the impacts of mercury in the human body. She is particularly interested in how mercury interacts with traditional foods in the North and the health impacts it has on those living there. Her PhD project has taken her to Resolute Bay, a remote hamlet in Nunavut, where she collects samples from the local Inuit population. In Montreal, she works in two CFI-funded biology labs and uses a gut simulator to conduct her experiments.

Return to the #IAmInnovation collection

Related Stories

Emmanuel Alabi poses with line drawing illustrations around him.
video
Ontario
A better way to measure pain in children
PhD student, Emmanuel Alabi, is looking for a way to objectively rate pain to help those who can’t communicate
Daniella Niyonkuru poses with line drawing illustrations around her.
video
Ontario
Helping more young women choose engineering and computer science
Carleton University graduate, Daniella Niyonkuru, leads by example. As a successful computer engineer and devoted mentor, she is showing girls that a career in tech is within reach
A compilation of images representing four major science projects. The first is a dark platform lit up with bright green light; the second an angular, pointy building; the third a weather radar station with a satellite dish in a snowy field; and the last is a large red and white icebreaker surrounded by frozen water.
article
Alberta,Ontario,Quebec,Saskatchewan
Major league science
A compilation of nine unique research facilities that are helping to ensure Canada remains a world leader in research and innovation