Dr. Baki Sadi

Image Baki Sadi
Research Scientist
  • Analytical method development, radionuclide bioassay and internal radiological dose assessment
  • Conducting research on dosimetry and cellular toxicity for better understanding of biological and health effects from internal contamination of radionuclides at the levels relevant to environmental exposure
  • Review documents submitted for Environmental Assessment for radiological impacts on human health
  • Provide scientific and technical advice on issues related to the radiological exposure to human health

Current research and/or projects

  • A better understanding of radon dosimetry through indoor aerosol characterization and computational simulation
  • Health effects of chronic exposure to natural uranium in drinking water
  • Development of an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) relevant to uranium induced kidney toxicity

Research and/or project statements

  • A better understanding of radon dosimetry through indoor aerosol characterization and computational simulation: Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking. Although the guideline for radon exposure in homes is provided in concentration of radon gas, it is actually the short-lived radon progenies that deposit most of the radiation dose to lung. While the majority of the radon progenies are attached to particulate matters, a considerable fraction remain unattached in a typical indoor environment. Deposition of radon progenies in the lung, therefore, depends on the particle concentration, attached and unattached fractions as well as particle size distribution of the radioactive aerosols. In this study, measurements of indoor aerosol characteristics relevant to radon dosimetry, such as radon progeny concentration, equilibrium factor, unattached fraction, and radon progeny particle-size-distribution will be carried out. These will be used in conjunction with a radon dosimetry computational simulation tool to calculate annual effective dose. Knowledge generated from this project will allow us to get a better understanding of the relative contribution of indoor particulate matters to annual effective dose from radon.
  • Health effects of chronic exposure to natural uranium in drinking water: Concentrations of natural uranium in well water from some communities can be well above the levels recommended by the Health Canada drinking water guidelines. Heath Canada researchers conducted studies on the biological effects from chronic exposure to uranium in drinking water on a group of Canadian population living on private wells. The results indicated loss of proximal tubular function of kidney at elevated concentration of uranium. However, the mechanisms of the underlying biological effects, from long-term consumption of uranium from such water are not well understood and require further investigation. To address this knowledge gap, an in vivo study on a rodent model is currently underway through a collaborative research project between the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and the Radiation Protection Bureau (RPB) of Health Canada, approved under the Federal Nuclear Science and Technology (FNST) initiative. The FNST project will focus on the genotoxicity and kidney toxicity through subcellular uranium distribution and phenotypic assays. In order to gain further mechanistic understanding into the toxicological effects, a subset of these samples will be studied using “omics” technology approved under a Genomic Research and Development Initiative (GRDI) project. For the GRDI project, genomic and proteomic analysis of blood and kidney tissues samples will be conducted in collaboration with the Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau (CCRPB) of Health Canada.
  • Development of an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) relevant to uranium induced kidney toxicity: Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element as well as a heavy metal. Biological and health effects of uranium have been attributed to both its radiological and chemical toxicity. While the majority of the published studies indicate uranium toxicity is primarily due to chemical damage to the kidney, other in vitro and in vivo experiments show genotoxic effects that could be attributed to both chemical and radiological toxicity. Due to potential occupational exposure in the uranium-based nuclear fuel cycle, environmental exposure from mining and other industrial activities and chronic exposure through drinking water, especially in communities served by underground well-water, adverse health effects of uranium is a concern to the risk assessors and regulators in both radiological and chemical communities. The objective of this project is to develop an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) relevant to uranium-induced kidney toxicity for submission to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Extended Advisory Group on Molecular Screening and Toxicogenomics (EAGMST).

Education and awards

  • Ph.D., Analytical Chemistry (2005), University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
  • Master of Science, Analytical Chemistry (2001), Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky, USA
  • Bachelor of Science, Chemistry (1994), Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh
  • NSERC-IRDF Postdoctoral Scientist (Nov 2005-Dec 2007), Activation Laboratories Ltd., Ancaster, Canada                      
  • NSERC-VF Postdoctoral Fellowship (Jan 2008-Apr 2009), Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada

Key publications

  • Raymond Ko, Chad Shew, Sharman Perera, Baki Sadi, Kristine Mattson, Kathy Nielsen, David Kelly, Ed Waller, Chunsheng Li, Investigation of Internal Radionuclide Contamination from the Analysis of Nasal Swabs and Facial Swipes, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 301(1): 147-152 (2014).
  • Baki B. Sadi, Allison Fontain, Daniel McAlister, and Chunsheng Li, An Emergency Radiobioassay Method for Determination of 90Sr and 226Ra in a Spot Urine Sample, Analytical Chemistry, 87(15):7931-7937 (2015).
  • Chunsheng Li, Paolo Battisti,Philippe Berard, Alain Cazoulat, Antonio Cuellar, Rodolfo Cruz-Suarez, Xiongxin Dai, Isabella Giardina, Derek Hammond, Carolina Hernandez, Stephen Kiser, Raymond Ko, Sheila Kramer-Tremblay, Yannick Lecompte,Eva Navarro, Cristina Navas, Baki Sadi, Inmaculada Sierra, Freddy Verrezen,Maria A Lopez.EURADOS Laboratory Intercomparison on Emergency Radiobioassay, Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 167(4):472-484 (2015).
  • Jing Chen, Weihua Zhang, Baki Sadi, A report of radioactivity measurements of freshwater fish samples from the national capital region of Canada. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 144:175-178 (2015).
  • Lauren Bergman, Jae Young Lee, Baki Sadi, Jing Chen, Radon exhalation from sub-slab aggregate used in home constructions in Canada. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 164:606-611 (2015).
  • Yacoob Shaikh, Edward P.C. Lai, Baki Sadi, Chunsheng Li, Magnetic nanoparticles impregnated with 18-crown-6 ether: hybrid material synthesis for binding and detection of radioactive strontium, Nanoscience and Technology, 2(1):1-5 (2015).
  • Zack Varve, Edward Lai, Chunsheng Li, Baki Sadi, Selective extraction of Sr-90 in urine using 44(5)di-tertbutyl dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 ether polyacrylamide-coated magnetic nanoparticles, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 303(1): 1053-1057 (2015).
  • Li, C., Ansari, A.,Bartizel, C., Battisti, P., Franck, D., Gerstmann, U., Giardina, I., Guichet, C., Hammond, D., Hartmann, M., Jone, R. L., Kim, E., Ko, R., Morhard, R., Quayle, D., Sadi, B., Saunders, D., Paquet, F. GHSI Emergency Radionuclide Bioassay Laboratory Network - Summary of a Recent Exercise, Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 171(3): 351-357 (2016).
  • Sadi, B. B., Chen, J., Kochermin, V., Tung, G., Chiorean, S. A faster sample preparation method for determination of polonium-210 in fish. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 308: 843-850 (2016).
  • Jing Chen, Michael D. Rennie, Baki Sadi, Weihua Zhang, and Nadereh St-Amant, A study on the levels of radioactivity in fish samples from the experimental lake area in Ontario, Canada, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 153: 222-230 (2016).
  • Sadi, B., Li, C., Ko, R., Daka, J., Yusuf, H., Wyatt, H., Surette, J., Priest, N., Hamada, N. A study on the effect of internal exposure to 210Po on the excretion of urinary proteins in rats. Radiation and Environ mental Biophysics, 55(2): 161-169 (2016).
  • Sadi, B., Lee, J. Y., Chen, J. A dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique for the determination of 210Pb in drinking water samples. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 310: 99-108 (2016).
  • Chen, J., Zhang, W., Sadi, B., Wang, X., Muir, D.C.G. Activity Concentration Measurement of Selected Seals from Canadian Arctic, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 169-170: 48-55 (2017).
  • Li, C., Bartizel, C., Battisti, P., Böttger, A., Bouvier, C., Capote-Cuellar, A., Carr, Z., Hammond, D., Hartmann, M., Heikkinen, T., Jones, R., Kim, E.,Ko, R., Koga, R., Kukhta, B., Mitchell, L., Morhard, R.,Paquet, F., Quayle, D., Rulik, P., Sadi, B., Sergei, A.,Sierra, I., Sousa, W., Szabό, G. GHSI Emergency Radionuclide Bioassay Laboratory Network - Summary of the Second Exercise, Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 174(4): 449-456 (2017).
  • Sadi, B. B., Rinaldo, C., Spencer, N., Li, C. An Ion Chromatographic Separation Method for the Sequential Determination of 90Sr, 241Am and Pu isotopes in a urine sample, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 316: 179-189 (2018).
  • Zhang, W., Sadi, B., Rinaldo, C., Chen, J., Spencer, N., Unger, K. Evaluation of Mean Transit Time of Aerosols from the Area of Origin to the Arctic with 210Pb/210Po Daily Monitoring Data, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 188: 79-86 (2018).
  • Chauhan, V., Said, Z., Daka, J., Sadi, B., Bijlani, D., et al. Is there a role for the adverse outcome pathway framework to support radiation protection? International Journal of Radiation Biology, 95: 225-232 (2019).
  • Chauhan, V., Leblanc, J., Sadi, B., Burtt, J., Sauve, K., Lane, R., Randhawa, K., Wilkins, R., Quayle, D. COHERE – strengthening cooperation within the Canadian government on radiation research, International Journal of Radiation Biology, 97(9), 1153-1165 (2021).