Chris Kupka

Dr. Irena Buka, Clinical Professor of Paediatrics, Director and Co-founder of the Paediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at the University of Alberta, will be the featured speaker at the 2010 Lanie Melamed Memorial Lecture on April 8. Her topic will be “Children and environmental exposures in Canada: Do our kids need protection from carcinogens? ”

Dr. Buka’s research interest concentrates on the question of how the environment – in its many aspects – affects the health and development of children. She has published articles about the health effects of air pollution on children, children’s cancer and environmental -linkages, lead levels in the blood of Canadian children, and has also considered recent consumer concerns regarding products, e.g., plastics, melamine, etc. She has a special interest in environmental influences on the health and development of the foetus and child in the -context of clinically relevant disorders and determinants of health.

Her vision is for a strong, research-based clinical collaboration across Canada that provides environmental assessment, care and education for children and families. She also hopes to collect credible local data to support protective policies and to positively influence government decisions in the area of sustainability.

BCAM is pleased and proud to be bringing this authority on the effects of the environment on children to Montreal, and asks you to not only mark your calendars for the event but also to invite others who share these concerns.