Exposure Science and Environmental Health Laboratory
Welcome to the EXPOSCEN Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. Here you will find information about research activities as well as resources on environmental noise and other issues related to improving our built environments.
Sights, sounds, smells and other stimuli permeate our physical forms to become part of us for brief moments in some cases, for a lifetime in other cases. Particles that we inhale can enter our central nervous systems, sounds can register with our skin and bones long before we hear them, and smells create such visceral responses that other sensory systems are left to fend for themselves. This is all part of the human experience and everyday life, for better or for worse, but we are also learning more and more every day about how some of these 'exposures' can be harmful to our health, or vice versa, how we can look to the environments we build around us as tools to improve our health and wellbeing. Research and work in the EXPOSEN Lab focuses on the links between the environment and health in general, but more specifically seeks to characterize our built environments to understand the scale and timing of specific exposures such as noise, and furthermore look at these exposures within the context of human populations and more detailed information on health and wellbeing.
Hello
My name is Tor Oiamo
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. My research in environmental health geography focuses on exposure assessment through the development of environmental models of noise and air quality, novel population exposure metrics, and simulation systems to assess health impacts of urban change. These efforts complement research activities that aim to further our understanding of environmental determinants of health as well as health and disease risks in vulnerable urban populations. Through collaboration with organizations such as Health Canada and Toronto Public Health, these research activities are oriented towards relevant environmental decision-making and policy arenas. I also teach on topics related to environmental decision-making, sustainable development, demography and environmental health.