Who we are

Carlos Passos

Secretary, IAEH
Environmental Management Program
Faculty UnB at Planaltina
University of Brasília, DF - Brazil

Dr. Carlos Passos gained his bachelor degree in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), in Santarém. During his work as research fellow of the Scientific Initiation Program of UFPA, he studied the influences of socioeconomic conditions on mercury (Hg) exposure in Santarém and collaborated in several studies examining the presence of Hg in the Tapajós River Basin and the health effects of dietary exposure (Hg-contaminated fish consumption) in riparian communities of the area (CARUSO Project). With a foundation in a range of disciplines as diverse as geochemistry, limnology, eco-toxicology, and human biology, Carlos made the move to the Université du Québec a Montréal (UQÀM) in 1999, where with the support of the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Brazilian Ministry of Education, he pursued graduate studies (M.Sc. and Ph.D) in Environmental Sciences, with a particular emphasis in Environmental Health Sciences. Carlos's Ph.D. at UQÀM extended his master’s investigations into the potential protective effects of local Amazonian fruit consumption in preventing exposures to methyl mercury via dietary fish intake. Carlos's findings published in international peer-reviewed journals highlight short-term practical interventions for protecting traditional riparian populations exposed to methyl mercury, and contribute to increase the available knowledge of the interactions between environmental toxic agents and essential constituents of traditional diets. Carlos carried out a postdoctoral fellowship in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto (USP), and is currently professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Brasília, where he teaches whilst continuing his research into environmental health matters in the Amazon (toxic metal exposures such as Hg and Pb). In addition, Carlos works in close collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Health reinforcing mechanisms of social control of the Brazilian Health Care System and studying human pesticide exposures in the large Brazilian Savannas and Wetlands, where there has been extensive cultivation of soya and cultures.