Éric Dewailly

Éric Dewailly (1957 – June 17, 2014) was a Canadian epidemiologist and medical researcher from Quebec. He was particularly notable for his research into human toxicology and the effect of contaminants on the environment in the Arctic. A professor of medicine at Laval University and the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec Research Center, he was also a scientific director of the World Health Organization's Collaborative Centre in Environmental Health.

Éric Dewailly
Éric Dewailly
Born	1957
Died	June 17, 2014(2014-06-17) (aged 57)
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of Lille
Scientific career
Fields	Epidemiology
Institutions	Laval University

Biography

The son of a gastroenterologist, Dewailly was interested in sociology in his teenage years, but his focus changed to infectious diseases and protecting public health after a trip to the Ivory Coast. ^[1] Dewailly's education included a degree in medicine from the University of Lille (1982), specialized studies in public health (CES, Amiens, 1983, a residency in community health (Laval University, 1983–85), a master's degree in epidemiology (Laval University, 1987), and a PhD in toxicology (University of Lille, 1990).

During his career, he served as a professor of medicine at Laval University, directed the Laval University Medical Centre's Public Health Research Unit, and was scientific director of the World Health Organization's Collaborative Centre in Environmental Health. He was also a professor and Scientific Director at Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec Research Center,^[2] as well as director of the CIHR funded Nasivvik Centre for Inuit Health.^[3]

Work

An epidemiologist^[4] specializing specialist in human toxicology, Dewailly's research focused on the impact of oceans on human health, and was noted for his work in the Canadian Arctic. He did much work for the International Network for Circumpolar Health Research.^[5]

Dewailly published notable work into breast cancer.^[6][7] In the late 1980s and 1990s, he conducted much research into the breast milk of Inuit women and was concerned with the high levels of chemicals found in it, containing over six times the nationally recommended level of PCBs.^[4][8][9] He made the discovery by accident after visiting the Inuit peoples in industrialized, heavily polluted Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1987 and testing a midwife from Nunavik.^[10][11] In 1994, he co-authored a paper documenting the unusually high level of cadmium in the blood of Inuit cigarette smokers.^[12] He was also knowledgeable about the effects of fats on the heart and human health, and spoke about the dangers of man-made trans fats and them being even worse than saturated fats.^[13] He expressed concerns about the calories in the Inuit diet consisting of more than 50% derived from fat.^[14] Dewailly once stated that he considered fats to have been "demonized" in the United States.^[15]

In 2003, Dewailly contributed to the book Northern Lights Against POPs: Combatting Toxic Threats in the Arctic with Christopher Furgal, writing about the "Discovery of Organic Contaminants in Arctic Peoples" in the 1980s.^[16] In 2011 he contributed to the book Oceans and Human Health: Risks and Remedies from the Seas, writing about the "Exposure and effects of seafood-borne contaminants in maritime populations".^[17]

Personal life and death

Dewailly was married to Dr. Sylvie Dodin Dewailly, a professor of medicine at Laval University. He died in a rock slide accident on Réunion Island on June 17, 2014.^[18]

References

1. Cone, Marla (1 December 2007). Silent Snow: The Slow Poisoning of the Arctic. Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-55584-769-2.
2. "Dr. Eric Dewailly". Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
3. "Eric Dewailly". Council of Canadian Academies. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
4. Jensen, Derrick; McBay, Aric (4 January 2011). What We Leave Behind. Seven Stories Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-58322-989-7.
5. Grossman, Elizabeth (15 April 2012). Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry. Island Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-61091-157-3.
6. Brown, Phil (20 August 2013). Toxic Exposures: Contested Illnesses and the Environmental Health Movement. Columbia University Press. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-231-50325-9.
7. Ley, Barbara L. (2009). From Pink to Green: Disease Prevention and the Environmental Breast Cancer Movement. Rutgers University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-8135-4530-1.
8. Banerjee, Subhankar (3 July 2012). Arctic Voices: Resistance at the Tipping Point. Seven Stories Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-60980-386-5.
9. Johansen, Bruce Elliott (9 April 2013). Encyclopedia of the American Indian Movement. ABC-CLIO. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-4408-0318-5.
10. Johansen, Bruce Elliott (2007). The Praeger Handbook on Contemporary Issues in Native America: Legal, cultural, and environmental revival. Praeger. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-275-99140-1.
11. Allen, John L (24 March 2006). Annual Editions: Environment 06/07. McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-07-351542-7.
12. Études – Inuit – studies. Association Inuksiutiit katimajiit. 1994. p. 244.
13. Montandon, Mac (14 September 2010). The Proper Care and Feeding of Zombies: A Completely Scientific Guide to the Lives of the Undead. John Wiley & Sons. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-470-90725-2.
14. Lau, Dr. Kevin (May 2010). Health in Your Hands: Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment. Health In Your Hands Pte Ltd. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-4515-6896-7.
15. Angeloni, Elvio (September 2006). Annual Editions: Anthropology 07/08. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p. 83. ISBN 9780073516271.
16. Fenge, Terry; Downie, David Leonard (2003). Northern Lights Against POPs: Combatting Toxic Threats in the Arctic. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-7735-2482-8.
17. Walsh, Patrick J.; Smith, Sharon; Fleming, Lora (2 September 2011). Oceans and Human Health: Risks and Remedies from the Seas. Academic Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-08-087782-2.
18. "Dr. Éric Dewailly, Arctic expert, among 2 dead in rockslide on Réunion Island". CBS News. June 18, 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.