Research
The Lavado Lab is a research facility housed within the Baylor Sciences Building (Baylor University) in Waco, Texas. Our multidisciplinary team conducts original research in environmental and molecular toxicology.
A central focus of our lab's projects is answering questions about human and environmental health effects. This includes questions about possible exposures to environmental contaminants and cellular mechanisms of toxic action after exposure.
We aim to conduct cutting-edge research in the following areas:
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Aquatic Toxicology.
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Environmental Health Sciences.
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Exposure and Risk Assessment.
Alternative Approaches to Animal Toxicity Testing - Cell-based Models
Toxicity testing has traditionally relied heavily on in vivo assays. Although whole-organism studies provide valuable information, they raise important ethical and animal welfare considerations and can limit the speed and scale of chemical testing. The principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) have therefore encouraged the development of more predictive and biologically relevant alternatives to animal testing. New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), including advanced in vitro cell models, are increasingly important tools for modern toxicology and ecotoxicology.
Our laboratory develops and applies cell-based NAMs for environmental toxicology and ecotoxicology. Cell lines provide cost-effective, reproducible, and mechanistically informative platforms for evaluating how environmental contaminants affect biological processes, identifying biomarkers of exposure and effect, and investigating toxicity mechanisms. These approaches can also enable more efficient screening of large numbers of chemicals, concentrations, and mixtures.
Looking ahead, our research aims to expand beyond conventional cell culture toward more physiologically relevant and predictive NAMs, including advanced cell models, co-cultures, organ-on-chip and microphysiological systems, and molecular and omics-based endpoints. A major goal is to help bridge mechanistic in vitro data with organism- and population-level outcomes. This direction aligns with the growing emphasis of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the broader toxicology community on advancing NAMs that can reduce reliance on animal testing while improving chemical hazard characterization and ecological risk assessment. By developing and validating environmentally relevant in vitro models, our laboratory seeks to contribute to the next generation of toxicology—one that is more mechanistic, efficient, predictive, and supportive of regulatory decision-making.
Biotransformation and Toxicity of Legacy and Emerging Environmental Contaminants
Biotransformation plays a critical role in determining the fate, persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity of environmental contaminants. Once chemicals enter an organism, metabolic enzymes can transform them into products that are more readily eliminated. However, biotransformation does not always detoxify chemicals. In some cases, metabolism generates reactive or more toxic metabolites, making these pathways essential to understanding the biological effects and environmental risks of chemical exposure.
Our laboratory investigates the biotransformation and biological effects of both legacy contaminants and contaminants of emerging concern. We focus on how differences in metabolic capacity influence susceptibility to chemical exposure and how biotransformation pathways contribute to detoxification, bioactivation, oxidative stress, and other mechanisms of toxicity. Our research includes legacy environmental contaminants, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as well as a rapidly expanding range of emerging contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), bisphenol alternatives, liquid crystal monomers (LCMs), emerging plasticizers and plasticizer alternatives, and micro- and nanoplastics. These contaminants present new challenges because their environmental occurrence and biological effects are often advancing faster than our understanding of their metabolism, mechanisms of action, and long-term consequences.
A major component of our work focuses on biotransformation enzymes and pathways, including cytochrome P450 enzymes and other Phase I and Phase II metabolic systems. We investigate how contaminant exposure alters these pathways and how metabolic responses interact with endpoints such as oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular signaling, transport processes, and biomarkers of exposure and effect. By integrating biotransformation with mechanistic toxicology, cell-based models, and environmentally relevant exposure studies, our laboratory seeks to better understand why contaminants produce toxicity, how organisms respond to them, and how emerging chemicals may differ from the compounds they are designed to replace. Ultimately, this research contributes to improved hazard characterization, ecological and human health risk assessment, and the development of more predictive approaches for evaluating legacy and emerging environmental contaminants.
Ecotoxicology and Effects of Emerging Contaminants on Aquatic Life
Increasing urbanization and consumption of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plastics, and other consumer products have contributed to the release of a diverse and growing group of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) into the environment. Many of these chemicals are detected in wastewater effluents, surface waters, sediments, and aquatic organisms because conventional wastewater treatment systems were not originally designed to remove them completely. Consequently, CECs—including pharmaceuticals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), PFAS, plastic-associated chemicals, and other emerging pollutants—pose a major challenge to water quality, aquatic ecosystems, and wildlife health.
Our laboratory investigates how exposure to environmental contaminants affects aquatic organisms and wildlife across multiple levels of biological organization, from molecular and cellular responses to effects on individual organisms and populations. Fish and other aquatic organisms are particularly valuable models because they integrate contaminant exposure from water, sediment, and food and can reveal both acute and chronic effects under environmentally relevant conditions.
A central goal of our research is to connect molecular mechanisms of toxicity with ecotoxicologically relevant outcomes. We investigate biomarkers and early molecular responses —including changes in gene expression, biotransformation pathways, oxidative stress, endocrine signaling, mitochondrial function, and other cellular processes— and determine how these responses relate to higher-level endpoints such as development, growth, reproduction, behavior, histopathology, endocrine disruption, and survival. For example, chronic exposure to estrogenic contaminants can produce responses ranging from vitellogenin induction and altered gonadal development to reproductive impairment, altered sex ratios, and feminization of male fish. Our laboratory integrates analytical chemistry, molecular and cellular biomarkers, laboratory toxicity testing, and field-based studies to establish multiple lines of evidence linking environmental exposure to biological effects. By bridging molecular toxicology with ecotoxicology, our research seeks to determine not only how contaminants disrupt biological pathways, but also whether those molecular changes translate into meaningful consequences for aquatic organisms, wildlife populations, and ecosystem health. This integrated approach supports improved ecological risk assessment and the development of more effective strategies to protect aquatic environments and manage water quality.