Varona Uribe, Marcela Eugenia  |  Investigador Persona

Medical doctor and specialties in toxicology and occupational medicine and field epidemiologist with a PhD in Biological Sciences. Investigator and co-investigator in multiple projects in the fields of health, environment, biomarkers, risk assessment and genotoxic effects of chemical substances. In workplace settings and the general population, has been evaluated exposures to heavy metals (mercury and lead), pesticides (organophosphates, carbamates, organochlorines, paraquat and glyphosate) and solvents (aromatic hydrocarbons). Findings of these research projects have allowed understanding of the landscape of exposures in different Colombian populations and have helped improving surveillance of exposures and potential adverse effects in workers and the general population. These studies developed as joint projects with the Colombian Ministries of Health and Labor, companies, various universities and Workplace Risk Insurance companies. As such, they have resulted in development of policies to reduce exposures and prevent diseases associated with chemical exposures. Since 2011 I have been a teacher and researcher in the public health group of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Universidad del Rosario. Some of the research projects are listed below: Occupational exposure to organic solvents: biomarkers of exposure, effect and susceptibility, Diagnostic Survey. Industrial hygiene and safety services in Colombia, Impact on health and the environment due to exposure to pesticides and implementation of good agricultural practices in tomato cultivation, Colombia, Exposure to pesticides in the inhabitants of the banks of the Bogotá river (Suesca) and in the Capitan fish, Evaluation of exposure to organic solvents in car painters in the city of Bogotá, 2015, Concentration of organophosphate and carbamate pesticide residues and DNA damage in rice farmers, Evaluation of exposure to coal dust in underground mining in three departments of Colombia, Evaluation of the exposure to mixtures of environmental pollutants and their health effects in rural population in three departments in Colombia.