Associate Professor
School for the Environment
University of Massachusetts, Boston
helen.poynton@umb.edu
617-287-7323
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
The present challenges facing our environment are often hidden threats that through long term or intermittent pollutant exposures reshape ecosystems often leading to decreased diversity and loss of important functions and services. Trying to understand the causes of an impaired ecosystem or the effects resulting from chronic exposure to a pollutant is not straight-forward and requires innovative approaches. Ecotoxicogenomics is an emerging field in ecotoxicology that applies genomic technologies to understanding the effects of pollution at the molecular level.
My research focuses on applying genomics to better understand sub-lethal effects of environmental pollutants and the consequences of adaptation to pollution. My lab is also working to uncover molecular biomarkers that can be used to detect environmental pollutants and understand their bioavailability.