Felipe De Oliveira Galvão

Felipe De Oliveira Galvão

Research Specialist
Visiting address: Nobels väg 13, 17177 Stockholm
Postal address: C6 Institutet för miljömedicin, C6 Biokemisk toxikologi Dreij, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I received my M.Sc. degree in Biochemistry in 2011 and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2016 from Professor Silvia Batistuzzo’s group, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil. In 2015 I was awarded with a Ph.D. visiting fellowship at the Unit of Biochemical Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. In 2018, I joined Professor Kristian Dreij’s group for a postdoc focusing on Genetic Toxicology, and in 2023 I got a position as Research Specialist at IMM.

    I have experience in Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis with emphasis on particulate matter sampling, physical-chemical characterization, air pollutants dispersion modeling, and analysis of in vitro and in vivo effects of air pollutants. The focus of my research is to assess the impact of complex mixtures emitted by biomass burning in both an occupational and environmental exposure scenario.

Research

  • - Development of new approach methodologies for assessing cancer risks associated with air pollution mixtures

    Air pollution is a complex mixture of compounds with different biological activities that makes risk assessment a challenge. Air pollution in general, as well as many of its components, is classified as carcinogens. Current strategies for cancer risk assessment (CRA) of air pollution are however based on a pollutant-by-pollutant approach. This is a great simplification and excludes the possibility of mixture effects that may underestimate actual human health risks. The objective of this project is to address these issues by developing new approach methodologies (NAMs) for CRA of air pollution mixtures. We suggest that CRA of complex mixtures should be based on toxicity testing of whole mixtures in vitro and determination of relative Mixture Potency Factors (MPFs) (Jarvis et al 2013, Jarvis et al 2014). We have also showed that this approach can accurately determine genotoxic potency of single air pollutants (Lim et al 2015, Dreij et al 2017). Applying this NAM, we show that CRA of air pollution based on in vitro MPFs better predict the lung cancer risk associated with exposure to ambient air PM than currently accepted component-based approaches (Dreij et al 2017). In addition, MPFs for different Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) have been validated against Salmonella mutagenicity and in vivo carcinogenicity data (de Oliveira Galvao et al 2022). We are now applying this NAM with samples representing different emission sources and environments. This project is funded by the Swedish Research Council, STINT/CAPES, Swedish Cancer and Allergy fund and Karolinska Institutet.

    - Assessment of acute respiratory and cardiovascular health effects due to biomass smoke exposure in the Brazilian Amazon

    Biomass burning is a global concern in terms of climate change, biological diversity, and health hazards. Globally, ca 3 billion people are exposed to biomass particulate matter (PM). Biomarkers of exposure and effect are fundamental for understanding environmental exposures, mechanistic pathways, and monitoring early adverse outcomes. Our aim is to assess the acute cardiopulmonary health effects due to short-term exposure to biomass PM among the population in Amazon deforestation arc together with in vitro analyses of sampled PM in a lung cell model to provide a mechanistic characterization of the health hazard. The project is based on a panel study in Amazon, with measurements of cardiopulmonary health and effect biomarkers using an exposure lag of 1-7 days during the wet and dry season with exposure assessment based on personal PM monitoring and urinary metabolites. The mode of action is assessed by in vitro studies using sampled PM. The project addresses the so far neglected and less understood issue of acute cardiopulmonary effects due to short-term exposure to PM from wildfires. This project will be the first of its kind to combine personal monitoring of exposure, specific cardiopulmonary biomarkers, and functional tests with mechanistic in vitro studies of collected PM in Amazon. How does this translate to public awareness? To reduce the gap between high-quality research and effectively engaging affected communities we will use environmental education strategies among the exposed population. This project is funded by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS) and Karolinska Institutet (KI Research Foundation Grants).

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