Dr. Benjamin Barst
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, McGill University
Department of Natural Resource Sciences
[email protected]
A) EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
PhD Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Québec, Québec (2010-2015)
Eau Terre Environnement
Concentration: Water Science
MSc University of North Texas, Denton, Texas (2008-2010)
Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Applied Sciences
Concentration: Environmental Science
BA University of North Texas, Denton, Texas (2006-2008)
Major: Biochemistry
BS Adams State University, Alamosa, Colorado (2001-2005)
Major: Wildlife Biology
Eau Terre Environnement
Concentration: Water Science
MSc University of North Texas, Denton, Texas (2008-2010)
Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Applied Sciences
Concentration: Environmental Science
BA University of North Texas, Denton, Texas (2006-2008)
Major: Biochemistry
BS Adams State University, Alamosa, Colorado (2001-2005)
Major: Wildlife Biology
B) RESEARCH INTERESTS AND CURRENT PROJECTS
My research is primarily focused on environmental mercury contamination. Recent work includes: 1) the study of how mercury affects anatomy and physiology of wild fish, 2) how mercury and other metals are distributed in organisms at various levels (organ, tissue, subcellular), 3) the development of cost-effective methods to determine mercury speciation in fish tissues, 4) otolith microchemistry to reconstruct past exposures to mercury and other metals, and 5) the use of lake sediments as archives to reconstruct past contaminant deposition.
In Dr. Basu's lab I am studying the potential effects of mercury on landlocked Arctic char from the Canadian High Arctic.
In Dr. Basu's lab I am studying the potential effects of mercury on landlocked Arctic char from the Canadian High Arctic.
C) HONOURS AND AWARDS
Prix Du Rayonnement International, INRS-ETE, 2016
INRS-ETE, Travel scholarship for International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Edinburgh, Scotland, July 2013
Programme de bourses d’exemption des frais de scolarité majorés pour les étudiants étrangers, August 2010
Graduate Assistant Teaching Scholarship, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Texas, summer 2010
Graduate Assistant Teaching Scholarship, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Texas, spring 2010
INRS-ETE, Travel scholarship for International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Edinburgh, Scotland, July 2013
Programme de bourses d’exemption des frais de scolarité majorés pour les étudiants étrangers, August 2010
Graduate Assistant Teaching Scholarship, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Texas, summer 2010
Graduate Assistant Teaching Scholarship, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Texas, spring 2010
D) PUBLICATIONS
- Barst, B. D.; Rosabal, M.; Drevnick, P.; Basu, N.; Campbell, P.G., Subcellular partitioning of trace elements (Cd, Pb, As, Hg, Se) in the livers of Alaskan yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus). Environmental Pollution, submitted.
- Dietz, R.; Eulaers, I.; Gabrielsen, G.W.; Letcher, R.J.; Sonne, C.; Andersen-Ranberg, E.; Barst, B. D.; Basu, N.; Bustnes, J.O.; Bytingsvik, J.; Ciesielski, T.M.; Desforges, J.P.; Drevnick, P.E.; Gustavson, K.; Jenssen, B.M.; Kruemmel, E.; Levin, M.; Mallory, M.; McKinney, M.A.; Muir, D.C.G.; Provencher, J.F.; Ross, P.S.; Staffansson, J.; Tartu, S.; Wilson, S., Exposure to and biological effects of organohalogen contaminants and mercury in Arctic wildlife and fish. AMAP Effects Assessment; submitted for national review August 2016.
- Barst, B. D.; Ahad, J.M.E.; Rose, N.; Jautzy. J.; Drevnick, P.; Gammon, P.; Sanei, H.; Savard, M., Lake-sediment record of PAH, mercury, and fly-ash particle deposition near coal-fired power plants in Central Alberta. Environmental Pollution 2017.
- Perkins, M.; Barst, B. D.; Hadrava, J.; and Basu, N. Mercury speciation and subcellular distribution in the liver of experimentally-dosed and wild birds. Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 2017, 9999, 1-10.
- Bradley, M. A.; Barst, B. D.; Basu, N., A Review of Mercury Bioavailability in Humans and Fish. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 2017, 14 (2), 169.
- Barst, B. D.; Rosabal, M.; Campbell, P. G.; Muir, D. G.; Wang, X.; Köck, G.; Drevnick, P. E., Subcellular distribution of trace elements and liver histology of landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) sampled along a mercury contamination gradient. Environmental Pollution 2016, 212, 574-583.
- Jautzy, J. J.; Ahad, J. M.; Gobeil, C.; Smirnoff, A.; Barst, B. D.; Savard, M. M., Isotopic Evidence for Oil Sands Petroleum Coke in the Peace–Athabasca Delta. Environmental Science & Technology 2015, 49 (20), 12062-12070.
- Barst, B. D.; Bridges, K.; Korbas, M.; Roberts, A. P.; Van Kirk, K.; McNeel, K.; Drevnick, P. E., The role of melano‐macrophage aggregates in the storage of mercury and other metals: An example from yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus). Environmental Toxicolology & Chemistry 2015, 34 (8), 1918-1925.
- Barst, B. D.; Hammerschmidt, C. R.; Chumchal, M. M.; Muir, D. C.; Smith, J. D.; Roberts, A. P.; Rainwater, T. R.; Drevnick, P. E., Determination of mercury speciation in fish tissue with a direct mercury analyzer. Environmental Toxicolology & Chemistry 2013, 32 (6), 1237-1241.
- Barst, B. D.; Gevertz, A. K.; Chumchal, M. M.; Smith, J. D.; Rainwater, T. R.; Drevnick, P. E.; Hudelson, K. E.; Hart, A.; Verbeck, G. F.; Roberts, A. P., Laser ablation ICP-MS co-localization of mercury and immune response in fish. Environmental Science & Technology 2011, 45 (20), 8982-8988.
E) PRESENTATIONS (select 15; total = 52
- July 2017, “Investigation of Mercury Toxicity in Landlocked Arctic char in High Arctic Lakes”. B. Barst, P. Drevnick, M. Rosabal, P. Campbell, J. Hadrava, D. Muir, G. Köck, N. Basu. Platform at 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- July 2017, “Mercury Speciation and Subcellular Distribution in Experimentally-dosed and Wild Birds”. M. Perkins, B. Barst, J. Hadrava, N. Basu. Platform at 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- July 2017, “Mercury and Stable Isotopes of Nitrogen Reveal an Aquatic Diet for Seven Taxa of Shoreline Spiders”. C. Ortega-Rodriguez, M. Chumchal, R. Drenner, J. Kennedy, K. Lauck, K. Polk, M. Hall, B. Barst, A. Santa Rios, N. Basu. Platform at 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- July 2017, “In Vitro Bioaccessibility of Mercury from Traditional Foods of Bigstone
Cree First Nation (Alberta, Canada)”. N. Golzadeh, M. Bradley, B. Barst, J. Baker, J. Augeur, and N. Basu. Poster at 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. - July 2017, “Subcellular Distribution of Mercury in Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Liver”. J. Hadrava, B. Barst, M. Perkins, R. Dietz, C. Sonne, N. Basu. Poster at 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- July 2017, “Alternative Testing Methods: Comparing Test Sensitivities Between Fish Embryo and Fish Cell Models”. M. Alloy, B. Barst, N. Basu. Poster at 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- July 2017, “Toxicokinetics of Mercury Demethylation: Mercury Accumulation and Speciation in the Livers of Marine and Freshwater Fish Species”. B. Soulen, B. Barst, K. Bridges, P. Drevnick, A. Roberts. Poster at 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- May 2017, “Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Contaminated Sediment in Fish”. E. Boulanger, M. Alloy, B. Barst, M. Houde, S. Blais, J. Head. Poster at the CRRD Research Day, Montreal, Canada.
- May 2017, “Investigation of Mercury Toxicity in Landlocked Arctic char Sampled Along a Mercury Contamination Gradient”. B. Barst. Platform at the McGill Northern Research Network Forum, Montreal, Canada.
- November 2016, “Mercury speciation in fish liver at the organ, tissue, and subcellular levels: implications for toxicity”. B. Barst. University of Windsor, Graduate Student Seminar, Invited Platform, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
- November 2016, “Investigation of Mercury Toxicity in Landlocked Arctic Char in High Arctic Lakes”. B. Barst, P. Drevnick, M. Rosabal, P.G.C. Campbell, J. Hadrava, D. Iqaluk, D.C.G. Muir, G. Köck, and N. Basu. Poster at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, North American Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, USA.
- November 2016, “Subcellular Distribution of Trace Elements in the Livers of Yelloweye Rockfish”. B. Barst, M. Rosabal, P. Drevnick, N.Basu, and P.G.C. Campbell. Poster at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, North American Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, USA.
- November 2016, “Lake-sediment record of PAH, mercury, and fly-ash particle deposition near coal-fired power plants in Central Alberta, Canada”. B. Barst, J.M.E. Ahad, N.L. Rose, J.J. Jautzy, P. Drevnick, P. Gammon, H. Sanei, and M. Savard. Poster at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, North American Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, USA.
- November 2016, In situ Method for Evaluating the Early Life Toxicity of Contaminated Sediments in Walleye (Sander vitreus). Boulanger, E., Barst, B., Alloy, M., Houde, M., Blais, S., Head, J. Poster at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, North American Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, USA.
- June 2016, “Mercury speciation in fish liver at the organ, tissue, and subcellular levels: implications for toxicity”. B. Barst, P. Drevnick, M. Korbas, N. Basu. Platform presentation, User’s Science Seminar, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA.