Background
Bezhad Heibati started at the Cancer Registry in 2023, where he works as a postdoc in the Section for Epidemiology and Prevention. His research focuses on exposure and measurement of trace elements and other organic compounds. Bazhad is affiliated with the offshore research group, where he will study the relationship between chemical exposure, night work, and cancer risk among offshore workers. He has previously worked at the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, and the University of Oulu in Finland and has received several European fundings.
Behzad Heibati is a postdoctoral researcher who has started his position in June 2023 at the Cancer Registry of Norway. His research is focused on studying the association between chemical exposure, night shift work, and cancer risk among Norwegian offshore workers. The research project is funded by the Norwegian Cancer Society.
Behzad started his scientific career in 2019 as a researcher at the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, where he has explored the human exposome through characterisation of environmental and biological samples using analytical and mass spectrometry (MS) techniques combined with numerous statistical modelling approaches. He has developed various MS techniques to measure exposure to complex mixtures of trace elements and organic compounds. He has applied these exposure assessment methods in numerous epidemiological studies. In 2020, he continued his academic career as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, Finland, where the main objectives were related to environmental and occupational health.
In 2018, his EXPOSOWORK proposal received the Seal of Excellence by the European Commission as submitted in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie action H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, and then co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation in 2020. The main aim of the project was to characterize the occupational exposome profiles of workers in a chemicals plant under a chrono-modulating rotating shift schedule. Throughout his career, he has actively collaborated on various national and international projects.
Makris KC, Heibati B, Narui SZ. Chrono-modulated effects of external stressors on oxidative stress and damage in humans: A scoping review on night shift work. Environ Int. 2023 Aug;178:108048. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108048. Epub 2023 Jun 20. PMID: 37463540.
Heibati B, Jaakkola MS, Lajunen TK, Ducatman A, Veysi R, Karimi A, Jaakkola JJK. Do hospital workers experience a higher risk of respiratory symptoms and loss of lung function? BMC Pulm Med. 2022 Aug 8;22(1):303. doi: 10.1186/s12890-022-02098-5. PMID: 35941624; PMCID: PMC9358815.
Abimbola SO, Xeni C, Sakhi AK, Heibati B, Husøy T, Dirven H, Makris KC. Diurnal Variation in Biomarkers of Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Their Association with Oxidative Damage in Norwegian Adults: The EuroMix Study. Toxics. 2022 Apr 7;10(4):181. doi: 10.3390/toxics10040181. PMID: 35448442; PMCID: PMC9028082.
Global Burden of Disease Cancer Collaboration; Fitzmaurice C, Akinyemiju TF, Al Lami FH, et al. Global, Regional, and National Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years for 29 Cancer Groups, 1990 to 2016: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. JAMA Oncol. 2018 Nov 1;4(11):1553-1568. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.2706. PMID: 29860482; PMCID: PMC6248091.
