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College of Agriculture and Bioresources

Research Area(s)

  • Individual and environmental factors that influence contaminant toxicity in animals
  • Physiological effects of contaminant exposure in developing fish and amphibians
  • Development and use of new approach methods (NAMs) in chemical toxicity testing
  • Toxicological impacts of mycotoxins on animal health and strategies for mitigation

Department

Animal and Poultry Science

Other Affiliations/Positions

Chair and Academic Advisor – Undergraduate Programs (BSA Animal Science and B.Sc. Animal Bioscience), Department of Animal and Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Bioresources

Co-Chair and Academic Advisor – BSc Toxicology Program, College of Arts and Science

Education

Ph.D. (Biology, Spec. in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology), University of Ottawa, 2007

B.Sc. (Biology, Honours), University of Prince Edward Island, 2000

Research Interests

My research involves identifying and understanding the impact of anthropogenic (man-made) and natural contaminants on animal health. A main area of study deals with contaminants in aquatic systems and understanding their potential risk to animals who live in these systems. The overall goal of this research is to help identify acceptable contaminant thresholds that do not pose an appreciable risk to environmental, animal and human health. My research has examined many types of chemicals, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and disinfectant compounds as well as complex environmental mixtures, such as wastewater effluent, contaminated groundwater, and oil sands-impacted water. I am also concerned with exposure and effects of ingested contaminants on gut health—this includes mycotoxins and other naturally-occurring toxins that can sometimes be found in animal feed.

Selected Publications

Ankley P, Amekor M, Kohlman E, Roberts C, Zhou Y, Hecker M, Giesy J, Brinkmann M, and N Hogan. 2024. Effects of Antimicrobial Exposure on the Gut Microbiome of Early-Life Stage Fish: A Chemical and Species Comparison. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4763861

Alehashem M, Alcaraz AJ, Hogan N, Weber L, Siciliano SD, and M Hecker. 2024. Linking pesticide exposure to neurodegenerative diseases: An in vitro investigation with human neuroblastoma cells. Science of The Total Environment 933, 173041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173041

Alehashem M, Peters R, Fajana HO, Eslamizad S, Hogan N, Hecker M, and SD Siciliano. 2024. Herbicides and pesticides synergistically interact at low concentrations in complex mixtures. Chemosphere 353, 141431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141431

Roberts C, Lin J, Kohlman E, Jain N, Amekor M, Alcaraz AJ, Hogan N, Hecker M, Brinkmann M. 2024. Acute and sub-chronic toxicity of 6PPD-quinone to early-life stage lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). bioRxiv 2024.03.26.586843. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.26.586843

Mittal K, Ewald J, Crump D, Head J, Hecker M, Hogan N, Xia J, Basu N. 2023. Comparing Transcriptomic Responses to Chemicals Across Six Species Using the EcoToxChip RNASeq Database. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5803

Crump D, Hickey G, Boulanger E, Masse A, Head JA, Hogan N, Maguire S, Xia J, Hecker M, and N Basu. 2023. Development and Initial Testing of EcoToxChip, a Novel Toxicogenomics Tool for Environmental Management and Chemical Risk Assessment. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 42, 1763–1771. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5676

Basu N, Crump D, Head J, Hickey G, Hogan N, Maguire S, Xia J, and M Hecker. 2019. EcoToxChip – a next-generation toxicogenomics tool for chemical prioritization and environmental management. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 38(2): 279-288. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4309

Ochoa-Sanabria C, Hogan N, Madder KM, Gillott C, Blakley BR, M. Reaney M, Beattie AD and FC Buchanan. 2019. Yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) fed mycotoxin-contaminated wheat – a possible safe, sustainable protein source for animal feed? Toxins: 11(5): 282. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins11050282

Wang A, Schwean-Lardner K, and N Hogan. 2019. Feed preference and feeding behaviours in grower broilers fed diets containing wheat naturally contaminated with fusarium mycotoxins. British Poultry Science, 60(3): 309-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2019.1596224

Wang A and N Hogan. 2019. Performance effects of feed-borne Fusarium mycotoxins on broiler chickens: Influences of timing and duration of exposure. Animal Nutrition, 5(1): 32-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2018.08.001

Selected Awards

2024- Provost's College Award for Outstanding Teaching (College of Agriculture and Bioresources)       

2023- North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teaching Award of Merit

2018- Provost's College Award for Outstanding Teaching (College of Agriculture and Bioresources)

2017- North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teaching Award of Merit

Past and Current Funding Sources

  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
  • Mitacs
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada
  • Department of Fisheries and Oceans
  • Genome Canada
  • Genome Quebec
  • Agriculture Development Fund
  • Canadian Poultry Research Council
  • CBS Bio Platforms
  • Canadian Foundation for Innovation

Courses Taught

ANBI 110.3 – Introductory Animal Bioscience (lecture and labs)

ANBI 420.3 – Comparative Animal Endocrinology

TOX 402.3 – Systemic Toxicology

TOX 480.3 – Toxicology Research (Course coordinator)

TOX 481.6 – Toxicology Research (Course coordinator)

TOX 490.0 – Toxicology Seminar (Course coordinator and faculty advisor)