Dr. Tara Barton-Maclaren, PhD

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• Senior Research Manager, Prioritization and Emerging Science Division, Health Canada
• Pioneer in New Approach Methodologies (NAM) and computational toxicology for human health risk assessment
• Recipient of the V.E. Henderson Award from the Society of Toxicology of Canada (2021)
• Recognized as a New Public Servant for scientific contributions to human health risk assessment
• Leads a 12-person team in computational toxicology and risk assessment
• Actively contributes to OECD initiatives for global alignment in toxicology and risk assessment

Introduction

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Dr. Tara Barton-Maclaren, PhD, is a Senior Research Manager at Health Canada, specializing in the Prioritization and Emerging Science Division. She is a leading figure in the transition to 21st Century Toxicology, focusing on integrating New Approach Methodologies (NAM) and computational toxicology to modernize risk assessment practices in Canada. Her work bridges innovative toxicology research with regulatory decision-making, ensuring the protection of Canadians from chemical risks. Dr. Barton-Maclaren is also a strong advocate for gender equality in STEM, having been highlighted by Health Canada for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in 2019.

Professional Background and Achievements

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Dr. Barton-Maclaren obtained her BSc Honours in Biomedical Science from the University of Guelph in 2000 and her PhD in Reproductive Toxicology from McGill University in 2007. She joined Health Canada’s Existing Substances Risk Assessment Bureau (ESRAB) in 2007, where she has led numerous risk assessment files and hazard methodology initiatives. Since 2012, she has served as a Risk Assessment Division Manager, overseeing the development of strategies to integrate emerging data and novel methodologies for chemical assessment in Canada.

As the Research Manager of the Emerging Approaches Unit, she is the focal point for hazard assessment expertise in the Bureau. She has received recognition as a New Public Servant for her scientific contributions to the human health risk assessment of high-profile substances. In 2021, she was given the V.E. Henderson Award from the Society of Toxicology of Canada for her leadership and contributions to the field.

Dr. Barton-Maclaren is actively involved in international collaborations, particularly under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where she promotes alignment in computational toxicology, Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA), and NAM. Her leadership in translational research has accelerated the acceptance and implementation of scientific advances to support regulatory decision-making.

Research Areas and Projects

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Dr. Barton-Maclaren’s research focuses on New Approach Methodologies (NAM) for human health risk assessment, computational toxicology, and Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA). She is particularly interested in bridging modern toxicology research with human health risk assessment to protect Canadians from chemical risks. Her work includes:

• Developing and implementing strategies for integrating emerging data and novel methodologies into chemical assessments.
• Contributing to global initiatives for risk assessment modernization, including collaborations with national and international thought leaders.
• Leading projects that utilize high-throughput transcriptomics, phenotypic profiling, and targeted biochemical assays to estimate chemical dose responses and compare them to exposure predictions.
• Advancing the use of QSAR (Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship) and AOP (Adverse Outcome Pathways) to support regulatory decisions.

Her research has been published in high-impact journals, and she has contributed to studies demonstrating the effectiveness of NAM-based approaches in providing protective points of departure (PoD) for systemic toxicity.

Major Publications

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Awards and Recognitions

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• V.E. Henderson Award (2021) - Society of Toxicology of Canada: Awarded for outstanding contributions to toxicology and risk assessment in Canada.
• New Public Servant Award - Health Canada: Recognized for scientific contributions to human health risk assessment.
• Highlighted by Health Canada for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (2019): Celebrated for her role in advancing gender equality in STEM and her leadership in toxicology.

Media and Public Engagement

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Dr. Barton-Maclaren is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences, particularly in the US and Europe, where she shares her expertise in computational toxicology and risk assessment. She has participated in approximately eight conferences annually, often as the only woman on international panels. Her public engagement includes:

• Advocating for gender equality in STEM and encouraging young women to pursue careers in science.
• Sharing her journey and advice in interviews, such as her feature in The Review Newspaper for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
• Collaborating with organizations like the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) and the Réseau Québécois en Reproduction (RQR) to promote scientific innovation and ethical research practices.

Dr. Tara Barton-Maclaren, Research Manager of the Emerging Approaches Unit at Health Canada, explains her role in developing strategies to integrate emerging data and New Approach Methodologies (NAM) for prioritizing and assessing chemicals in the Canadian marketplace. She emphasizes the importance of partnerships and collaborations to advance 21st-century toxicology, modernize risk assessments, and align with international initiatives like the OECD and APCRA. As a thematic leader in the Intersectoral Center for Endocrine Disruptor Analysis (ICEDA), she focuses on environmental regulatory strategies to screen and identify endocrine-disrupting substances, promoting data sharing and multidisciplinary integration to address knowledge gaps and explore emerging technologies for regulatory applications.

This webinar, titled “Regulatory Acceptance and Use of Next-Generation Approaches for Chemical Safety Assessments,” explores how industry and government are adopting non-animal methods and advanced toxicology to ensure chemical safety. Dr. Julia Fenton from Unilever highlights the company’s shift toward New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) - such as computational toxicology, high-throughput transcriptomics, and in vitro assays - to assess ingredient safety without animal testing, driven by EU policies like REACH and the cosmetics animal testing ban. She emphasizes Next-Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA), an exposure-led, hypothesis-driven approach that integrates NAMs to replace traditional animal tests, citing collaborative case studies and frameworks (e.g., OECD’s IATA) that demonstrate their protective and scientifically robust nature. Dr. Tara Barton-Maclaren from Health Canada then discusses Canada’s regulatory context under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), including Bill S-5, which aims to reduce animal testing. She details Health Canada’s use of Bioactivity Exposure Ratio (BER) frameworks, high-throughput assays, and transcriptomics to derive human-relevant points of departure for risk assessments, stressing the importance of international collaborations (OECD, APCRA) and modular, adaptable workflows to address data gaps and refine NAMs for regulatory acceptance. The webinar underscores the urgency of transitioning to 21st-century science for safer, more sustainable chemical management.

This webinar, part of the EPIC series co-organized by the US EPA, PETA Science Consortium International, the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, focused on the development and application of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) workflows and tools for chemical risk assessment. Dr. Alistair Middleton from Unilever presented a systemic safety toolbox for Next-Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA), emphasizing an exposure-led, hypothesis-driven approach that integrates computational models and in vitro data to make protective safety decisions without animal testing, while Dr. Tara Barton-Maclaren from Health Canada discussed her work on applying bioactivity workflows and NAMs to screen and prioritize chemicals in Canada, highlighting the use of automated workflows like the Health Canada Automated Workflow for Prioritization (HOPper) to integrate and interpret complex data sets for regulatory decision-making. Both speakers underscored the importance of international collaborations, modular workflows, and the need to refine methods to address data gaps and improve the predictive power of NAMs for broader regulatory acceptance.

Research Profiles

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• Google Scholar
• ResearchGate
• Health Canada Directory
• LinkedIn
• RQR Profile

References

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[1] Tara Barton-Maclaren, Ph.D. | Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals - McGill University
[2] Tara Barton-Maclaren, PhD - RQR
[3] Local woman honoured on International Day of Women and Girls in Science - The Review Newspaper
[4] Tara Barton-Maclaren, thematic leader of ICEDA, received the V.E Henderson award from the Society of Toxicology of Canada – CIAPE-ICEDA
[5] Tara S. Barton-Maclaren’s research works | Health Canada and other places
[6] Tara Barton-Maclaren - Google Scholar
[7] Accelerating the pace of chemical risk assessment (APCRA)