Event Description
This webinar is organized by the Pesticides and Health Special Interest Group, featuring speakers:
JOSE RICARDO SUAREZ
18 Years of the ESPINA Study: Tracking the Health Effects of Agricultural Pesticides in Ecuador from Childhood through Adulthood
For nearly two decades, the ESPINA study has investigated the longitudinal health impacts of agricultural pesticide exposure from childhood into young adulthood within a major floricultural region of Ecuador. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the study's 18-year trajectory, discuss key research findings detailing the physiological and developmental effects of pesticide exposure, as well as provide updates on our ongoing ancillary studies within the cohort. The session will also showcase how we are modernizing our epidemiological approach through the incorporation of new mobile and remote sensing technologies to better capture environmental and human data. Finally, we will outline the new directions of the research, exploring how these technological innovations are shaping the next phase of the ESPINA study.
ALEXIS HANDAL
Prenatal Exposures and Maternal-Child Health in Ecuador's Floricultural Sector: A discussion of the SEMILLA Cohort
Women of reproductive age are a key part of the industrial agriculture workforce, yet occupational hazards in these settings remain understudied. In Latin America, women?s labor force participation has steadily increased since 1990, with about one-quarter employed in agriculture, including export-oriented agro-industries. The Ecuadorian floricultural industry offers a critical case for examining the occupational, environmental, and social impacts of large-scale export agriculture on surrounding communities and on the health of women workers, particularly during pregnancy, and their families. Built on research conducted since 2003, SEMILLA follows pregnant workers and nonworkers and their infants in a flower-growing region to assess how chemical exposures, alongside social and structural factors, impact maternal and child health, integrating biomonitoring, exposure assessment, and repeated measures of infant growth and neurodevelopment. Study design and methods, key initial findings, and ongoing analyses linking prenatal exposures to early developmental outcomes will be described.
JOSE RICARDO SUAREZ
18 Years of the ESPINA Study: Tracking the Health Effects of Agricultural Pesticides in Ecuador from Childhood through Adulthood
For nearly two decades, the ESPINA study has investigated the longitudinal health impacts of agricultural pesticide exposure from childhood into young adulthood within a major floricultural region of Ecuador. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the study's 18-year trajectory, discuss key research findings detailing the physiological and developmental effects of pesticide exposure, as well as provide updates on our ongoing ancillary studies within the cohort. The session will also showcase how we are modernizing our epidemiological approach through the incorporation of new mobile and remote sensing technologies to better capture environmental and human data. Finally, we will outline the new directions of the research, exploring how these technological innovations are shaping the next phase of the ESPINA study.
ALEXIS HANDAL
Prenatal Exposures and Maternal-Child Health in Ecuador's Floricultural Sector: A discussion of the SEMILLA Cohort
Women of reproductive age are a key part of the industrial agriculture workforce, yet occupational hazards in these settings remain understudied. In Latin America, women?s labor force participation has steadily increased since 1990, with about one-quarter employed in agriculture, including export-oriented agro-industries. The Ecuadorian floricultural industry offers a critical case for examining the occupational, environmental, and social impacts of large-scale export agriculture on surrounding communities and on the health of women workers, particularly during pregnancy, and their families. Built on research conducted since 2003, SEMILLA follows pregnant workers and nonworkers and their infants in a flower-growing region to assess how chemical exposures, alongside social and structural factors, impact maternal and child health, integrating biomonitoring, exposure assessment, and repeated measures of infant growth and neurodevelopment. Study design and methods, key initial findings, and ongoing analyses linking prenatal exposures to early developmental outcomes will be described.
Location
Setting: Live Virtual
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ISEE
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| June 10, 2026 |    |
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