Dr. Robert Hausler is a professor in the Department of Construction Engineering at École de technologie supérieure (ETS). He has also coordinated the research team for the Station expérimentale des procédés pilotes en environnement (STEPPE-ETS) since its creation in 1994. This experimental platform for environmental pilot projects has given rise to many joint university/industry initiatives.
Dr. Hausler is a pioneer in his field. He has spearheaded much cutting-edge research on the various applications of ozone and oxidants in pollution treatment, including the use of ozone and/or peroxide for lixiviation water, oxidation in polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) ozonation in soil remediation, and PAH degradation in improving bioremediation system effectiveness. He has long worked together with the Ville de Montréal and its wastewater treatment plant and has taken part in various investigations. These include studies (in conjunction with researchers from INRS-IAF and Environment Canada) aimed at selecting wastewater disinfection technologies. In this instance, the group used chemical and ecotoxicological monitoring to examine and assess disinfection procedures for eliminating persistent toxic compounds (endocrine disrupting substances, pharmaceutical compounds, metals) in the environment.
Dr. Hausler’s various achievements have earned him a strong international reputation. He received the 1994 Synergy Award from the Conference Board of Canada and the NSERC. A member of the AWWA, IOA, Ordre des Chimistes du Québec and Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec, his research is funded by as many industry and municipal partners as it is by funding bodies like the NSERC and the FQRNT. Dr. Hausler has supervised the work of over 50 graduate students and has authored over 100 scientific publications (papers, conference papers, reports).
Dr. Hausler is a specialist in oxidation processes and has developed many technologies (RSC, Aquagenex compact potable water treatment system, DAGUAFlo-UF). Linking different fields of interest, like greenhouse gas recovery and reuse, environmental performance self-evaluation systems, integrated residual materials management, wastewater treatment technologies, and local cybernetic transport systems for goods and people, is a systemic approach to environmental issues and responsible community development. Dr. Hausler is known for developing cross-disciplinary research projects executed by multidisciplinary teams and for integrating practical and fundamental concerns into his research, two elements intrinsic to innovation.
Dr. Viviane Yargeau is an Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering at McGill University, an Associate Member of the McGill School of Environment and Chief Technology Officer of Earth Alive Clean Technologies. Since she joined McGill in 2004, she has been involved in numerous committees at McGill as well as in professional & technical associations. She has established research collaboration in Canada and internationally in the field of environmental engineering, more specifically on exposure assessment, effect assessment and control of contaminants of emerging concern in the environment and engineered systems. Her work is supported by various granting agencies and through collaboration with the industry.
Dr. Daniel G. Cyr graduated with an MSc in environmental toxicology from Concordia University and a PhD in endocrinology from the University of Manitoba. He then pursued postdoctoral training at McGill University. He briefly joined the federal public service before being recruited to an academic career at INRS in 1997, becoming a full Professor in 2003.
His research focuses on better understanding the environmental factors related to male infertility. It deals with the role and regulation of cell-cell interactions and the effect of environmental pollutants, including endocrine disruptors. His laboratory is recognized worldwide for its work on the blood-epididymis barrier, which protects spermatozoa from attacks by the immune system.
His laboratory has made many fundamental scientific discoveries. It showed that contaminants present in sediment alter sperm quality in fish, resulting in embryolethality following in vitro fertilization with eggs from non-exposed fish. It was one of the first laboratories to demonstrate the transgenerational effects of environmental pollutants. This marked the beginning of Dr. Cyr’s research on endocrine disruptors, well before these substances became a concern for the scientific community or the general public.
His pioneering work on cell-cell interactions in male reproduction led to a better understanding of spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and numerous pathologies, not only in animals but also in humans.
Among his team’s achievements, they have identified several mechanisms for the regulation of claudins, transmembrane proteins, demonstrating how their deregulation affects male fertility. Given the serious infertility problems in Canada today, the results have great importance for society. His team has also recently developed a unique method for isolating and characterizing basal cells, whose role in the epididymis is not yet fully understood. This work opens up new pathways in the understanding of the structure of the epididymis and male fertility.
These few examples highlight the importance of the scientific contribution of Dr. Cyr’s research, especially in the fields of toxicology, reproduction, and male fertility. He has also trained close to 40 MSc and PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. A number of these students have won presentation awards at local, national and international conferences, and some now hold positions in academia, industry and government.
Dr. Cyr’s team has collaborated with researches from Canada, the United States, Brazil, Italy, Belgium, Britain and France. In addition having represented Canada on the Biological Effects Working Group on the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, he has served as a member of the AQUAMIN/CANMET program and contributed to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada endocrine disruptor program. He has also helped organize some 20 provincial, Canadian and international conferences, including the International Congress of Toxicology held in Montreal in 2007.
Dr. Cyr has authored over 135 articles, 17 book chapters and has given over 70 invited seminars. Consistently, funded by Canadian and Quebec granting agencies, his work has attracted media interest, having been the subject of some 50 interviews and articles in various media outlets.
His scientific contributions have been recognized twice by the Society of Toxicology of Canada: first in 2004 with the Veylein Henderson Award for a young scientist’s contribution to toxicology and, more recently, in 2014 with the Gabriel Plaa Award of Distinction for outstanding contribution to toxicology. In 2015, Dr. Cyr was admitted to the Université du Québec Circle of Excellence.
