Project Team

WARREN FOSTER, PHD

Warren Foster is currently the Director of the Reproductive Biology Division, and Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University. His primary research interest focuses on the mechanisms regulating inappropriate estrogen production and metabolism in estrogen-dependent diseases such as breast cancer and endometriosis. The ultimate goal is the development of novel therapeutic interventions for the successful treatment of endometriosis that preserves fertility. Dr. Foster is also interested in the role of environmental toxicants in reproductive and endocrine diseases. He is currently participating in an ongoing study designed to elucidate the role of chemical contaminants in the pathophysiology of endometriosis. Current investigations focuses on the mechanisms regulating the production and turnover of prostaglandins in the human endometrium, the effects of biohazardous agents on the activity of tissue remodelling enzymes in the reproductive tract and investigation of the fetal determinants of adult disease. Human in utero exposure to environmental toxicants and dietary factors are also being determined and their consequences to endocrine and reproductive development explored. The impact of in utero exposure to test compounds on pre term labour is also being examined.

Selected Publications:

Foster WG, Agarwal SK. Environmental contaminants and dietary factors in endometriosis.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002; 955:213-29

Foster WG, Chan S, Platt L, Hughes CL Jr. Detection of phytoestrogens in samples of second trimester human amniotic fluid. Toxicol Lett. 2002; 28;129(3):199-205.

Rier S, Foster WG. Environmental dioxins and endometriosis. Toxicol Sci. 2002; 70(2):161-70.

Wade MG, Foster WG, Younglai EV, McMahon A, Leingartner K, Yagminas A, Blakey D, Fournier M, Desaulniers D, Hughes CL. Effects of subchronic exposure to a complex mixture of persistent contaminants in male rats: systemic, immune, and reproductive effects. Toxicol Sci. 2002; 67(1):131-43.

Younglai EV, Foster WG, Hughes EG, Trim K, Jarrell JF. Levels of environmental contaminants in human follicular fluid, serum, and seminal plasma of couples undergoing in vitro fertilization. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2002; 43(1):121-6.

Shridhar S, Farley A, Reid RL, Foster WG, Van Vugt DA. The effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on corticotrophin-releasing hormone, arginine vasopressin, and pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA levels in the hypothalamus of the cynomolgus monkey. Toxicol Sci. 2001; 63(2):181-8.

Harris RS, Foster WG, Surrey MW, Agarwal SK. Appendiceal disease in women with endometriosis and right lower quadrant pain. J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc. 2001; 8(4):536-41.

Yang JZ, Agarwal SK, Foster WG. Subchronic exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin modulates the pathophysiology of endometriosis in the cynomolgus monkey. Toxicol Sci. 2000; 56(2):374-81.

Desaulniers D, Leingartner K, Wade M, Fintelman E, Yagminas A, Foster WG. Effects of acute exposure to PCBs 126 and 153 on anterior pituitary and thyroid hormones and FSH isoforms in adult Sprague Dawley male rats. Toxicol Sci. 1999; 47(2):158-69.

Foster WG, Desaulniers D, Leingartner K, Wade MG, Poon R, Chu I. Reproductive effects of tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol in the rat. Chemosphere. 1999; 39(5):709-24.