Warren Foster

A graduate of McMaster University, Dr. Foster is a Professor and the Director of the Centre for Reproductive Care, West End Clinic, and the Reproductive Biology Division in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at McMaster University.

Prior to joining the faculty at McMaster, Dr. Foster served as the Associate Director of Women’s Health and Director of Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and as the head of Reproductive Toxicology for Health Canada in Ottawa.

Dr. Foster’s research interests fall primarily into two categories: (i) the effect of dietary and environmental chemicals on human reproductive function, and (ii) the investigation of the pathophysiology of endometriosis and studying potential beneficial effects of various dietary factors. They have recently developed a novel mouse model of endometriosis that they are employing in studies designed to test the efficacy of various agents in regulating the growth of ectopic endometrium from women with and without endometriosis.

Neurobehavioral and immune effects in children, a putative decline in semen quality, and a rise in the number of Canadian women with breast cancer, have all been linked to environmental chemical exposure. Causes for changes in various health trends continue to be hotly debated and the role of environmental toxicants remains unknown. Dr. Foster’s research program includes the following key elements to better: (i) define human exposure to hormonally active chemicals (both environmental toxicants and dietary factors such as the phytoestrogens); (ii) determine critical windows of exposure; and (iii) elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms.

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