Environmental pollutants from both natural and anthropogenic sources can accumulate in agricultural and aquatic ecosystems, posing serious risks to food safety and public health. To effectively address these challenges, it is essential to understand the toxicological properties of these substances within living organisms.
Traditionally, rodents have been the primary models for toxicity studies. However, the rapid increase in the number and variety of environmental pollutants, driven by technological advancements and climate change, has significantly increased the demand for animal testing. This trend raises concerns regarding time, cost, and the growing global emphasis on ethical principles, such as the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) of animal use. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative model organisms that can provide in vivo toxicological data while addressing these ethical and practical challenges.
In this presentation, I will discuss how our research group employs Caenorhabditis elegans, an alternative model valued for its ease of cultivation and evolutionary conservation, to investigate the mechanisms underlying the toxic effects of environmental and foodborne contaminants (e.g. mycotoxins and PFASs), with implications for food safety and public health.
Biography: Dr. Wei received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Bioenvironmental System Engineering at NTU. He then conducted postdoctoral research in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA. His research expertise lies in Environmental Toxicology, Food Toxicology, Functional Food, and Environmental Microbiology. Dr. Wei is the recipient of the 2023 Ta-You Wu Memorial Award (National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan), 2021-2024 Academic Research Performance Award (NTU), 2020-2022 Outstanding Teaching Faculty Member Award (NTU), 2018-2021 MOST Special Outstanding Talent Award (Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan).