Postdoctoral fellow investigating impacts of common chemicals on cardiovascular health

Bisphenols are widely used industrial chemicals used to make polycarbonate plastic as well as epoxy resins. Commonly used in the food manufacturing industry, these chemical compounds can be found in up to 90 per cent of the population’s urinary samples. 

Emerging research shows these chemicals negatively impact the cardiovascular system, and the higher the concentration, the bigger the risk. But the mechanism of impacts aren’t fully known.

Dr. Zohre Gheisary, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow, is advancing our understanding of how bisphenols affect the cardiovascular system. She is investigating the underlying mechanisms and examining the impact of sex on cardiovascular outcomes, given that these chemicals interfere with sex hormones.

Her research will primarily involve animal models, but she is also conducting a population study using data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey to measure bisphenol exposure and cardiovascular health status in Canadians. She will also use these findings to better replicate human exposure levels in her animal studies. 

“Our environment has a very important impact on our health,” says Gheisary. “My goal is to uncover how these chemicals truly affect our cardiovascular system. We need this evidence to support changes in policies and guidelines."

Gheisary completed her undergrad and master’s degrees in genetics at the University of Tehran in her home country of Iran. She earned her PhD in immunology at the University of Saskatchewan, where she focused on the impacts of diet and smoking on the circadian clock in the context of rheumatoid arthritis. 

Gheisary is conducting her postdoctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Thompson, PhD, an associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute.