Overview
As the NIHR Exeter BRC Training and Events Manager, I am responsible for the delivery of research training and a suite of associated capacity building and networking events designed to optimise partnership working and promote our translational research across the partnership. I will also be heading up the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Strategy that will cut across all functions particularly training, PPIE and stakeholder engagement
Qualifications
PhD Biological Sciences at the University of Exeter
BSc Zoology at the University of Exeter
Career
I completed my BSc in Zoology before undertaking a PhD at the University of Exeter, carrying out an integrated health effects analysis of antidepressants using zebrafish models. Following this, I managed the Zebrafish Facility held within the Aquatic Resources Centre at the University.
Publications
Journal articles
Gould SL, Winter MJ, Norton WHJ, Tyler CR (2021). The potential for adverse effects in fish exposed to antidepressants in the aquatic environment.
Environ Sci Technol,
55(24), 16299-16312.
Abstract:
The potential for adverse effects in fish exposed to antidepressants in the aquatic environment.
Antidepressants are one of the most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical classes for the treatment of psychiatric conditions. They act via modulation of brain monoaminergic signaling systems (predominantly serotonergic, adrenergic, dopaminergic) that show a high degree of structural conservation across diverse animal phyla. A reasonable assumption, therefore, is that exposed fish and other aquatic wildlife may be affected by antidepressants released into the natural environment. Indeed, there are substantial data reported for exposure effects in fish, albeit most are reported for exposure concentrations exceeding those occurring in natural environments. From a critical analysis of the available evidence for effects in fish, risk quotients (RQs) were derived from laboratory-based studies for a selection of antidepressants most commonly detected in the aquatic environment. We conclude that the likelihood for effects in fish on standard measured end points used in risk assessment (i.e. excluding effects on behavior) is low for levels of exposure occurring in the natural environment. Nevertheless, some effects on behavior have been reported for environmentally relevant exposures, and antidepressants can bioaccumulate in fish tissues. Limitations in the datasets used to calculate RQs revealed important gaps in which future research should be directed to more accurately assess the risks posed by antidepressants to fish. Developing greater certainty surrounding risk of antidepressants to fish requires more attention directed toward effects on behaviors relating to individual fitness, the employment of environmentally realistic exposure levels, on chronic exposure scenarios, and on mixtures analyses, especially given the wide range of similarly acting compounds released into the environment.
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