Tap Talks are Ted Talk like presentations from amazing women scientists and experts in our community. Hosted by 500 Women Scientists Corvallis in partnership with Block 15 Brewery.

The Canary in the Water
What Zebrafish Teach Us about Forever Chemicals

Tuesday May 4th, 2021 at 7 PM PST
Online

How do you know if something is toxic? How do you know if it is very toxic or just mildly toxic? Answer:
Zebrafish! They are our canaries in the water.
In this Tap Talk, Yvonne Rericha will share her fascinating research discoveries and insights about forever chemicals and how zebrafish can quickly forewarn us of toxicity at dosage and exposure duration.
Forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are everywhere and have been manufactured into all the things we want to be non-stick and stain-resistant. We live with them and work with them every day. They are in our cookware (Teflon), carpets, food packaging, and more. While their unique chemistry makes them very useful, it also makes them incredibly persistent and long-lasting in the environment. We know that some PFAS (but not all) can cause harmful health effects, but there are still thousands of PFAS that we need to know more about. Cue the Zebrafish! Zebrafish are a great model for testing a lot of chemicals in a relatively short amount of time, and they are more similar to humans than you might think!

About the Speaker
Yvonne is a PhD candidate in the Environmental & Molecular Toxicology department at Oregon State University, where she works in Dr. Robyn Tanguay’s laboratory investigating the toxicity of PFAS using zebrafish. She is originally from Idaho but got her undergraduate degree in biology from St. John’s University in New York, where she also played on their NCAA Division I softball team. Yvonne has worked as a biological fieldwork technician conducting stream surveys to assess fish and amphibian distribution in Idaho and Oregon, as well as a laboratory technician for the Clorox Company in their Cleaning Research & Development division. Her passion for the environment and interest in the intersection between chemistry and biology led her to pursue a graduate degree in toxicology.