Dr. Catherine Harris

After completing my B.Sc. in Ecology at Lancaster University, I moved to Brunel, and have been working with Professor Sumpter on endocrine disruption issues for the past 13 years. My research is centred around evaluating the environmental impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals. For example, my first post-doc project (the ACE project) involved the assessment of mixture effects of environmental estrogens. More recently, I have been part of a team evaluating the impact of the intersex condition on reproductive performance in fish (the EDCAT project). Intersex fish (fish which contain both male and female tissue in their gonads) are a key concern resulting from estrogenic chemicals in freshwater systems, and the outcome of the EDCAT study will be crucial in determining how significant the intersex issue is.

Qualifications

• 1995 – 2000: Ph.D.; Brunel University, Uxbridge
• 1991 – 1994: B.Sc.; Lancaster University

Career

• 11/2000 – present Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Institute for the Environment, Brunel University, Uxbridge
• 10/1995 – 10/2000 Research Assistant, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge
• 01/1995 – 09/1995 Research Assistant, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, Lancaster University, Lancaster

Research Projects

The majority of my research has focussed on the environmental impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals. When I first started work as a Research Assistant at Brunel, I was responsible for determining the endocrine disrupting properties of a group of plasticizers (phthalates), which are widely produced and heavily used throughout the western world. The results of these studies have been extensively cited (over 300 citations on one paper alone), reflecting the overall interest in the toxicological effects of this important group of chemicals.

Other major contributions to the research carried out in the Ecotoxicology Research Group have involved the co-ordination of an EU funded research project (ACE). The ACE consortium consisted of seven partners (and approximately 21 participants overall) from various countries within the EU. The aim of the project was to evaluate the effects of mixtures of environmental estrogens both in vitro and in vivo, with a view to contributing to future environmental risk assessment.

More recently I have been working with teams from Defra, the Environment Agency and Exeter University on the EDCAT project (Endocrine Disruption in Catchments). This is an inter-disciplinary research programme designed to measure the effects of endocrine-active pollutants on fish populations. The primary purpose of EDCAT was to study the exposure and impact of sewage-derived endocrine disrupters (in particular, estrogenic compounds) on fish populations in a river catchment receiving sewage effluent, and to measure rates of recovery after the STW plant was remediated. Another important purpose was to discover whether intersex male fish are reproductively compromised when they breed together with normal fish. The latter aspect of the project is that which I was most involved with. Together with colleagues at Brunel and at Calverton Fish Farm (an Environment Agency managed facility), I set up breeding colonies of wild-caught roach (Rutilus rutilus). The team at Exeter developed and applied a series of DNA microsatellite markers to identify parentage in these groups of fish. Together we aim to determine if intersex fish within the breeding colonies in captivity contribute to subsequent generations (and if so, the level of their contribution), under conditions mimicking those occurring naturally in wild populations.

Publications

• Harris CA, Brian JV, Pojana G, Lamoree M, Booy P, Marcomini A, Sumpter JP (2009) The influence of a surfactant, linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, on the estrogenic response to a mixture of (xeno)estrogens in vitro and in vivo. Aquatic Toxicol 91 (1): 2367-2372
• Brian JV, Harris CA, Runnalls TJ, Fantinati A, Pojana G, Marcomini A, Booy P, Lamoree M, Kortenkamp A, Sumpter JP (2008) Evidence of temperature-dependent effects on the estrogenic response of fish: implications with regard to climate change. Sci Tot Environ 397 (1-3): 72-81 (2 citations)
• Harris CA, Routledge EJ, Schaffner C, Brian JV, Giger W, Sumpter JP (2007) Benzotriazole is antiestrogenic in vitro but not in vivo. Env Toxicol Chem 26 (11): 2367-2372 (3 citations)
• Brian JV, Harris CA, Scholze M, Kortenkamp A, Booy P, Lamoree M, Pojana G, Jonkers N, Marcomini A, Sumpter JP (2007) Evidence of estrogenic mixture effects on the reproductive performance of fish. Environ Sci Technol 41 (1): 337-344 (23 citations)
• Brian JV, Harris CA, Scholze M, Backhaus T, Booy P, Lamoree M, Pojana G, Jonkers N, Runnalls T, Bonfa A, Marcomini A, Sumpter JP (2005) Accurate prediction of the response of freshwater fish to a mixture of estrogenic chemicals. Environ Health Perspect 113 (6): 721-728 (66 citations)
• Harris CA, Santos EM, Janbakhsh A, Pottinger TG, Tyler CR, Sumpter JP (2001) Nonylphenol affects gonadotropin levels in the pituitary gland and plasma of female rainbow trout. Environ Sci Technol 35(14): 2909-2916 (41 citations)
• Harris CA and Sumpter JP (2001) The endocrine disrupting potential of phthalates. In: Metzler M (Ed) Endocrine Disruptors Part I, The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry (Vol 3; Part L) Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany; pp 169-201
• Harris CA (2001) Sex change chemicals and their influence on the brain. The Scientific World 1(11): 681-683
• Beresford N, Routledge EJ, Harris CA, Sumpter JP (2000) Issues arising when interpreting results from an in vitro assay for estrogenic activity. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 162: 22-33 (88 citations)
• Harries JE, Runnalls T, Hill E, Harris CA, Maddix S, Sumpter JP, Tyler CR (2000) Development of a reproductive performance test for endocrine disrupting chemicals using pair-breeding fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Environ Sci Technol 34(14): 3003-3011 (94 citations)
• Harris CA, Henttu P, Parker MG, Sumpter JP (1997) The oestrogenic activity of phthalate esters in vitro. Environ Health Perspect 105(8): 802-811 (306 citations)
• Ashby J, Lefevre PA, Odum J, Harris CA, Routledge EJ, Sumpter JP (1997) Synergy between synthetic estrogens? Nature 385: 494 (78 citations)
• Alcock RE, Halsall CJ, Harris CA, Johnston AE, Lead WA, Sanders G, Jones KC (1994) Contamination of environmental samples prepared for PCB analysis. Environ Sci Technol 28(11): 1838-1842 (54 citations)

NB/ citations listed as at 8/6/09