Department of Environmental Toxicology

Specific research goals

We are interested in investigating the influence of environmental substances, including toxic stressors, on human health. Humans can be exposed to chemicals through air, water, food, or skin. An important objective of our work is the research on the molecular action mechanisms of environmental substances.

We focus on small chemicals known to induce adverse effects, for instance allergies. Furthermore we study the individual risk of disease caused by environmental exposures and related factors. The knowledge gained from the mechanistic investigations is applied to design new test strategies and establish in vitro assays aiming to identify the hazard potential of chemicals, nanomaterials and proteins. Our priorities are contact and respiratory sensitizers. The complexity of these phenomena requires a wide interdisciplinary orientation of specific research projects, which are embedded in national and international co-operations.

 

  • Investigation of molecular effects and identification of markers for risk assessment of environmental factors and substances
  • Interactions between environmental effects or agents and the innate/ adaptive immune system
  • Development of in vitro approaches as alternatives to tests on animals for the assessment of chemicals and environmental factors