Toward an interdisciplinary and multi-isotopic approach to assess whole-body adverse health effects of chronic exposure to volcanic ash deposits (ASTONISH)
2024 Grant for a 3-years interdisciplinary PhD funding by the CAP 20-25 I-Site excellence program of University
Clermont Auvergne (122,000€ awarded).
PhD student : Mountaga Diallo
Co-supervision : Lucie Sauzéat (CR, IRD), Claude Beaudoin (Prof. UCA), Séverine Moune (Physicienne Adjointe, UCA)
Project description:
Volcanic eruptions release a range of sizes of particules that can affect communities up to thousands of kilometers away from the volcano. Acute respiratory disorders have been documented in exposed populations and evidenced by in-vivo and in-vitro studies. Volcanic activity can however be recurrent for long periods of time and volcanic ash resuspension can exacerbate the health impact of primary eruptive events from the time of deposition up to many years after an eruption. SO far, our global understanding of the health effects triggered by chronic exposure to volcanic particles at the whole body scale is extremely limited.
In a proof-of-concept study [1], we demonstrated that mice chronically exposed to metal-rich volcanic ash deposits present an organ-specific and isotopically-typified metallome deregulations associated with pathophysiological changes. These alterations significantly impact the reproductive functions and might results from increased oxidative stress [2].
This project aims to further assess the underlying mechanisms accounting for this ash-related infertility disorders, evaluate the ash-related specificity of the observed symptoms and validate the development of isotopic biomarkers to diagnose hepato-testicular deregulations induced by metal-rich volcanogenic pollution.
[1] Sauzéat et al., 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154383
[2] Sauzéat et al., 2025 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109388
Scientific outcomes
- Conférences internationales
2024 (Sept) - Invited talk - Japura S., Sauzéat L., Eychenne J., Manrique N., Garcia F. Geomedicina en las regiones volcánicas, el caso de Uninas y Tungurahua volcanos - Conferencia " Aportes de la geologia al desarollo nacional", organized by the Congreso Peruano de Geologia (CPG) y el Colegio de Ingenieros del Perú- Arequipa (CIP_AQP) (Peru) - Oral
2024 (Nov) - Invited talk (keynote speaker) -Sauzéat L., Health impact of chronic volcanic ash exposure: New constraints from a multi-isotopic approach - ISCMGEH-Europe conference – Virtual conference – Oral
2024 (Dec) - Japura S., Sauzéat L., Manrique N., Garcia F. Análisis preliminar de la desregulación de metales en testículos de ratones expuestos a cenizas del volcán Ubinas - XXII Congreso Peruano de Geologia – Lima, Peru – Oral
Lucie SAUZÉAT - LMV