EXPOsure and Health – Rouyn-Noranda Cohort (EXPOSANT RN): Understanding the links between environment and health in Rouyn-Noranda

Thanks to $500,000 in funding over three years through the PRÉCISE program of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, a research team led by Dr. Vikki Ho (Co-Scientific Director of CARTaGENE) is launching EXPOSANT-RN, a new cohort in Rouyn-Noranda aimed at better understanding the relationships between environmental exposures, lifestyle factors, and health.

This project will build on the infrastructure, expertise, and experience developed by CARTaGENE over the years. It will collect data from people living in Rouyn-Noranda and harmonize these data with those already available through CARTaGENE, providing valuable context for understanding the region’s health realities in comparison with other regions of Quebec.

EXPOSANT-RN aligns with CARTaGENE’s mission to support health research through high-quality data collected with participant consent and managed under a rigorous governance framework. This new initiative demonstrates how the CARTaGENE infrastructure can help address important and timely public health questions.

For CARTaGENE, the EXPOSANT-RN cohort represents an opportunity to apply its experience to a concrete environmental health issue while continuing its commitment to research, public health, and the participants whose contributions make this work possible.