Campus
- Scarborough (UTSC)
Areas of Interest
At UTSC, Professor Barrett's lab will investigate how complex environmental chemical mixtures contribute to human disease, including endocrine disruption, metabolic disorders, and cancer. Using a combination of non-targeted mass spectrometry, multi-omics, chemical biology, protein affinity pulldown assays, and in vitro/in silico/in vivo toxicology experiments, the lab aims to discover bioactive environmental contaminants in human biological samples (e.g., blood, serum) and elucidate their mechanistic roles in disease at the molecular and population levels. Our research is focused on the following areas:
- Environmental disease-driver discovery / Exposome science
- Toxicology of environmental contaminants
- Non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry & multi-omics
- Chemical–protein interactions and disease etiology
Biography
Professor Barrett completed her PhD in Environmental Chemistry under Professor Hui Peng at the University of Toronto, where she focused on identifying bioactive environmental contaminants via high-resolution mass spectrometry and bioanalytical techniques. Before joining UTSC, she worked as a Forensic Scientist in the Toxicology Section of the Centre of Forensic Sciences (Ontario), performing human biological-sample analyses in medicolegal investigations. Her work has involved collaborations with governmental agencies (e.g., Environment and Climate Change Canada; Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks) and academic partners nationally and internationally. She also holds a BSc (Honours, Chemistry & Biochemistry) from Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she conducted research with Professor Christina Bottaro.
Professor Barrett believes that scientific discovery thrives when diverse perspectives and lived experiences are represented, and she is dedicated to building an inclusive and supportive research environment. She looks forward to building a team of graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral fellows who are passionate about environmental health, toxicology, and exposome research.