Stephanie sits down with Dr. Patrick Allard, a Professor in UCLA’s Division of Life Sciences whose research sits at the cutting edge of genetics, epigenetics, developmental biology and environmental health. Dr. Allard’s laboratory uses both model organisms and stem-cell based approaches to uncover how exposure to environmental toxicants can disrupt reproductive health and influence neurobehavioral impairments.
In this episode, Stephanie and Dr. Allard dive into the major chemicals circulating on the market in 2025, what everyday exposures might mean for fertility and long-term well-being, how “critical windows” of development shape susceptibility, and the emerging science of inter-and transgenerational effects.
Dr. Patrick Allard was recently honored with a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for his groundbreaking work, and his insights offer a timely and eye-opening look at the invisible factors shaping our health.
Curious about a specific topic? Here’s what we cover:
00:05 – Introducing Dr. Allard
02:30 – How to Define Reproductive Toxicology
03:15 – Major Toxic Chemicals on the Market in 2025
05:30 – The Landscape of Pesticides
06:33 – Testing and Safety of New Chemicals
09:00 – How Everyday Exposures Affect Reproductive Health
12:15 – Critical Windows of Development
17:45 – Inter-and Transgenerational Effects
24:22 – Expanding Horizons: Studying the Impact of Male Exposures and Fertility
27:07 – What Keeps Dr. Allard Coming Back to this Research
28:33 – Future Directions and New Technologies
29:43 – What Makes Dr. Allard Most Excited About This Field
31:54 – Dr. Allard’s Recommendations to Reduce Everyday Toxicants
35:08 – The Future of Child Health and ToxicExposures
35:55 – Additional Resources for Listeners
37:46 – What Dr. Allard Wishes People Understood About Environmental Exposures
Resources
- QAC’s
- Debate on transgenerational inheritance of exposures in human:
- Why we should care about pesticides in our food and water:
- https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/green-science/the_dangers_of_pesticides/
- https://www.pesticidereform.org/pesticides-human-health/
- https://www.pesticidereform.org/pesticide-exposure-guide/%C2%A0 (easy guides tailored for communities in California)
- Fruits and vegetables to avoid and which ones are safe according to the EWG:
- Instructions on how best to clean and prepare food to get rid of pesticides:
- http://npic.orst.edu/health/foodprac.html (website mentions not to use detergent!).
- https://www.consumerreports.org/pesticides-herbicides/easy-way-to-remove-pesticides-a3616455263/, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03118 (Baking soda seems to work well but not as good as just peeling the fruit and vegetable
Dr. Patrick Allard
Visit the Allard laboratory website here: https://www.theallardlabatucla.org/
Biography
Patrick Allard is a Professor in the Division of Life Sciences at UCLA. Dr. Allard received his BSc from University of Toulouse, France, and his MSc in Biology of Aging from University of Paris. He then completed his PhD degree in Biology from McGill University, Canada, and his postdoctoral fellowship position in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, before joining UCLA as Faculty in 2012.
Dr Allard’s work resides at the intersection of genetics, epigenetics, developmental biology and environmental health. Specifically, his laboratory leverages the tractability of model organisms and stem cell-based approaches to examine reproductive and neurobehavioral impairments following exposure to environmental toxicants.His research focuses on the effect of environmental exposures and has been published in several high-profile journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), PLOS Genetics, Cell Reports, and Environmental Health Perspectives. Dr Allard has received multiple awards and grants including a Fulbright and a Burroughs Wellcome Innovations in Regulatory Science Award and funding from NIEHS, NIAAA, and the Templeton foundation.