Dr. Caren Helbing

Caren C. Helbing earned a B.Sc. (Hons) in Biological Sciences from the University of Windsor in 1988. She then joined the lab of Burr Atkinson at the University of Western Ontario (now known as Western University) where she studied the molecular basis of thyroid hormone-induced metamorphosis of bullfrog tadpoles and earned a Ph.D. in Zoology in 1994. After postdoctoral work in cancer biology at the University of Calgary with Randy Johnston in the then Department of Medical Biochemistry, she became a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Victoria in 1999. As a NSERC University Faculty Awardee and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar, she rose to the rank of professor in 2011 while directing a productive research group that investigates biomolecules to understand and promote animal (including humans!), environmental, and ecosystem health using a “One Health” approach. Her research team develops and uses biomolecular approaches to understand hormone and endocrine disrupting effects using model and non-model fish and wildlife. Her internationally recognized research activities apply a broad range of cutting-edge techniques including transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics. Notable contributions have been creating the first “true” frog genome assembly, using transcriptomics and non-lethal sampling methods to identify mechanisms of thyroid hormone action and disruption by pollutants in fish and amphibians, developing amphibian organ culture methods to reduce animal use, and creating environmental DNA/RNA methods for transforming environmental assessments and health monitoring of fish and wildlife.

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