Kristen Yeh joined HOBEL as a new PostDoc

Kristen shares her experiences, first impressions, and plans as she joins EPFL and the Human-Oriented Built Environment Lab. Let's see what she shares.

• You just arrived at the EPFL Fribourg - what are your first impressions?

Arriving in Fribourg after living in Toronto for 5 years feels like the calm after a storm. Not only is the city beautiful and filled with historical charm, but the people are kind, patient, and welcoming. The team at HOBEL has been particularly helpful with guiding me through this major transition in my life, for which I am very grateful.

• Can you tell us more about your career in academia?

My research career began in a Molecular Biology laboratory at Trent University, where I studied protein localization during encystation of Giardia intestinalis. Shortly thereafter, I joined a Forensic Chemistry lab at the same institution for my BSc thesis, which examined the chemical composition of fingerprints using mass spectral imaging. I began my PhD in Environmental Chemistry at the University of Toronto after completing my Bachelor’s. During my PhD, I used a variety of analytical, experimental, and computational methods to characterize emissions from cannabis smoke. These methods include, but are not limited to, real-time gas-phase analysis (PTR-ToF-MS), real-time aerosol characterization (AMS), offline mass spectrometry techniques, and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Additionally, as part of my PhD, I led a low-cost particle sensor project which examined the impacts of wildfires on residential indoor air quality in western Canada during the worst wildfire season on record in 2023. Given my passion for effective science communication, I have discussed my work and related topics in non-scientific online magazines, radio interviews, and podcasts. Going forward, I hope to increase public knowledge of indoor pollutants and inform individuals of mitigation strategies they can implement during episodes of poor indoor air quality.

• What are you most excited about your appointment at the Human-Oriented Built Environment Lab?

I am particularly excited to join such a diverse and interdisciplinary research environment. At HOBEL, the team is comprised of engineers, chemists, toxicologists, public health experts, architects, and economists, all from different regions of the world and who have taken unique academic and/or non-academic career paths. I look forward to exchanging knowledge with the team and its collaborators, with regards to both academic expertise and real-world experiences.

• What will your research focus on over the coming year?

As a part of HOBEL, I will be studying indoor sources, dynamics, and the fate of ultrafine particles (UFP) under different building operational and environmental conditions. Although my work previously focused on combustion sources of particles (recreational smoke and wildfires), I will be focusing on a wider range of UFP sources including personal care products, smoking alternatives, humans, secondary chemistry, and more. Through this work I hope to better understand the relationship between dose and health impacts of UFP exposure, particularly for UFP originating from different sources.

• What inspires you about the built environment of the future and its research schemes?

Given the rising temperatures around the globe, the built environment is becoming an increasingly important environment for human chemical exposure as people shelter from severe outdoor weather. I find it particularly inspiring how integral humans are to the built environment, as we not only construct these buildings for our own shelter, but also contribute significantly to the emissions that we encounter indoors. I think the built environment is an important vessel for human introspection, as it forces us to consider how to design and retrofit spaces to better suit our physiological and functional needs.

• Whenever you are not doing research, what are you interested in?

I love all forms of art – music, film, poetry, novels, photography, paintings, sculpture, mixed media, and crafts. I also practice vinyasa yoga and love a good cozy computer game. Given that Switzerland is such a lush and beautiful country, I hope to spend more time outdoors while here and try to get into hiking.