ToxLearn4EU Summer School HASSELT

With extensive expertise in radiation protection and environmental monitoring, Dr Geert Biermans leads research in the field of radiological surveillance, aimed at safeguarding public health and the environment from the potential risks associated with natural radiation. As the Section Head at the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC), Dr Biermans oversees a multidisciplinary team of senior experts responsible for conducting comprehensive surveillance programs to monitor radiation levels, including air, water, soil, and food.Through strategic planning and data analysis, his team ensures the timely detection of any deviations from regulatory standards, providing regulatory control, advice and guidance on natural radiation, legacies and NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials). Dr Biermans plays a crucial role on science communication providing expert guidance to policymakers and stakeholders on data related to radiological safety and risk assessment. As a manager, his interests lie in building a team where different complementary profiles, viewpoints and skillsets can converge to something that is larger than the sum of the individual parts.

Vaios Fytsilis studied chemistry (BSc) at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and applied biochemistry (MSc) at the University of Patras, where he focused on breast cancer research. He is currently working on the safety assessment of lab-grown dairy proteins at Maastricht University in a project that promotes sustainability and aims to reduce animal cruelty by developing new animal-free methods of standardized testing. His goal is to develop sustainable and cruelty-free methods for allergenicity and toxicity testing.

Dr Nele Horemans research has significantly contributed to our understanding of the impacts of nuclear activities on the environment, namely plant stress responses to radiation and radionuclides. Currently, she heads the research unit for Biosphere Impact Studies at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN). As an ecotoxicologist, she is interested in the role plants can play in cleaning up pollution from the environment. Her work not only enhances our understanding of radiation ecology but also informs policy decisions aimed at mitigating the environmental impact of nuclear activities. Her research involves collaborations all around the world with multidisciplinary partnerships, combining field, laboratory, and modeling work to comprehensively analyze the complex dynamics of long-term radiation exposure in plants and natural environments. Next to her research at SCK CEN she is appointed as a guest lecturer at the University of Hasselt teaching, radio – & ecotoxicity, radiecology lab to field approaches.

Dr George Johnson (Swansea University, UK) is a steering member of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee (GTTC) and co-chair of the quantitative and mode of action subgroups. The HESI provides an international forum to advance the understanding of scientific issues related to human health, toxicology, risk assessment, and the environment. From being awarded UKEMS Young Scientist Award in 2012 to President-Elect for the EEMGS society in 2019, Dr. Johnson has published numerous articles in prestigious journals. A major aspect of many of his projects has been the derivation of point of departure metrics for use in human health risk assessments. In addition, Dr. Johnson has been lead academic on numerous international collaborations and consultant for different institutions, including US-FDA-NCTR, Health Canada, RIVM-Netherlands, AstraZeneca, Food Standards Agency, GlaxoSmithKline, among others. Byond research. Dr Johnson is actively engaged in academia, teaching and mentoring students in Swansea University.

Houman Kahroba’s career focus took a new direction during his master’s studies when he delved into human molecular genetics, engaging in various projects related to the field of recombinant protein cloning, molecular diagnosis of animal diseases, and HLA typing for multiple sclerosis.His research activities continued at the Molecular Medicine Department of Tabriz Medical University, focusing on small extracellular vesicles (exosomes) role in cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infertility. Currently he is enrolled in a dual PhD program at Maastricht University and Hasselt University, investigating the impact of air pollution, particularly Black Carbon, on childhood cancer and its implications for placental dysfunction and fetal brain development. His research emphasizes transcriptomics and the cargo of small extracellular vesicles as vital signaling entities in these processes.

Dr. Ree Meerteens is an Associate Professor of Health Promotion at NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism and at CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, both, of the Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences, Maastricht University. Dr Meerteens is a proeminant researcher on applied psycology- health psycology field conducting studies on sleep quality (e.g. nurses, cancer survivors, type 2 diabetes patients), health promotion interventions and personalized care.

Dr Birgit Mertens is a distinguished researcher in the field of pharmaceutical sciences, having obtained her Master in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2005 from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. In 2010, she received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences also from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Mertens started working as a scientist in the Risk and Health Impact Assessment Unit of the WIV-ISP (the predecessor of Sciensano). In this capacity, she has been instrumental in various projects focusing on the safety evaluation of food-related compounds, including the investigation of the genotoxic potential of food contact materials, publishing numerous articles in prestigious international per-reviwed journals. Dr. Mertens also plays a pivotal role in coordinating multiple activities and projects centred on advancing alternative methods to animal testing. Since April 2023, she is leading the Risk and Health Impact Assessment service and continuing to shape the research landscape of this field.

Nelly Saenen is a doctor-assistant in the Biodiversity & Toxicology group at the UHasselt Centre for Environmental Sciences (CMS) and supports the Environmental & Molecular Epidemiology research within CMS. Her research interests situate within an interdisciplinary setting of epidemiology and toxicology to explore “Environment and Health”-related topics. Her current research focuses on the toxicokinetics of micro- and nanoplastics on the human intestine. In addition, she is active as a consultant at Sciensano, Unit Risk & Health Impact Assessment, where she is co-promoter of a PhD fellowship. She earned her PhD in Biology from Hasselt University. There she investigated the association between air pollution exposure and cognitive performance in children, with a strong focus on the molecular processes that could influence (neuro)development. She contributed to 31 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals, and she has been awarded 5 prizes for her doctoral research. Furthermore, she is involved in several international consortia for micro- and nanoplastic research.