About/

The Department of Toxicology at Gazi University, Ankara
Bensu Karahalil

Bensu Karahalil received her undergraduate degree in Pharmacy from Gazi University, Turkey. She completed her graduate studies, MSc and Ph.D., from Department of Toxicology, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. As an internationally experienced researcher Karahalil received several scholarships and awards from institutions in the USA, Germany and Turkey. She is also the member of editorial boards of both Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Toxicology and Industrial Health and has several administrative experiences at Gazi University, at Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and at the Turkish Society of Toxicology.

The Department of Toxicology at Gazi University is one of the most active department in Turkey in its field. According to a scientific evaluation, based on Web of Science data, the department recognised as the scientifically most successful department of the whole Gazi University. GUDT managed to get more than 70 nationally and 10 internationally funded projects and several outstanding awards.

Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow
Alok Dhawan

Prof. Dr. Alok Dhawan is currently Scientist E II and Area Coordinator, Nanomaterial Toxicology Group, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow. He obtained his PhD- Biochemistry from University of Lucknow, India in 1991. He has pioneered the identification of peripheral biomarkers of exposure, effect and susceptibility to xenobiotics. Dhawan has won several National awards including the INSA Young Scientist Medal in 1994; CSIR Young Scientist Award in 1999; Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize of ICMR in 2002

Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) is a constituent laboratory and council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Government of India. This multidisciplinary research institute addresses problems critical to human health and environment in niche areas of toxicology like Nanomaterial Toxicology; Systems Toxicology & Health Risk Assessment, etc. The group has received funding under the Indian Nanomission Programme and UK- India Education and Research Initiative with the University of Bradford, UK on nanomaterial toxicology.

Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck
Dietmar Fuchs

Dietmar Fuchs. After absolving his Ph.D. at the Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck Fuchs moved to the Institute for Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Innsbruck, Austria and became Reader (Medical Chemistry) and co-worker at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for AIDS-Research, Innsbruck. He was Fellow at Aston University, Birmingham and the University of Birmingham and Co-director of Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of AIDS-Research. Fuchs published more than 700 contributions in international peer-reviewed journals.

The Division of Biological Chemistry is located at Innsbruck Medical University with central research interest on the influence of immune response on biochemical pathways relevant for disease development such as cytokine-induced production of pteridines like neopterin and biopterin and degradation of tryptophan. Methods are available to analyze these pathways in vitro and in patients. These methodologies will be applied within the NANOLINEN project cooperations.

University of A Coruña, A Coruña
Blanca Laffon

Blanca Laffon currently is Associate Professor at the University of A Coruña, Spain. She obtained PhD in Pharmacy with honours and extraordinary award in 2001 at the University of Santiago de Compostela. She is also postgraduate in Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics and in Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology. Along her 13 years of professional research activity, she has conducted several studies aimed to evaluate the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity associated with exposure to chemical substances present in the environment. She has participated in around 10 funded research projects of which some were recognised with scientific awards from different entities.

The essential purpose of the University of A Coruña (UDC) is to provide society with higher levels of welfare through teaching, research, intervention and dissemination of knowledge within an ethical framework guided by the common good, critical thinking and social values. UDC has 21 years experience in managing research projects. The UDC Toxicology Unit is dedicated, since 1997, to the study of toxic effects of pollutants, primarily at the molecular and cytogenetic level. They have a wide experience in conducting studies using cell cultures, and also in human populations exposed to environmental or occupational agents.

Portuguese National Institute of Health, Porto
Joao Paulo Fernandes Teixeira

Dr. Joao Paulo Fernandes Teixeira received his PhD degree in Biomedical Sciences, Porto University in 2005 based on a background in Public Health. He has been working in National Institute of Health since 2005 and he has served as coordinator of the Environmental Toxicology Laboratory (2006-2008) and currently he is Vice-Coordinator of Environmental Health Department and Coordinator of Research & Development Unit in Environmental Health Department in National Institute of Health. His main research area is biological monitoring of occupational exposure of human populations to genotoxicants, and in general in the threat of genotoxicants to human health, using a multistage approach. He has over 30 publications in peer reviewed journals and two book chapters.

The Portuguese National Institute of Health (NIH) is a Central Department of the Ministry of Health, with technical, administrative and financial autonomy, depending directly from the Minister of Health. As the main institution dealing with public health, it includes several centers with various locations in Lisbon and Porto, directing several well-integrated multidisciplinary programs. The NIH is the National Reference Laboratory and all its operational units conduct research activities, develop quality control programs and training activities and have available laboratory services for the general public.

Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases, Amsterdam
Gert van der Laan

Gert van der LAAN is specialist in occupational medicine, Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam. He is heading the Netherlands Solvent and President of the Netherlands Society on Occupational Medicine and independent member of the Committee Working Conditions of The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER). Van der Laan is member of the Expert Committee Information Notices EU list of Occupational Diseases and the Working Group Occupational Diseases European Forum of Insurances against Occupational Diseases and Accidents at Work. He was temporary advisor WHO in revision of the ILO list of Occupational Diseases and member of the Scientific Committee on Occupational Medicine, Neurotoxicology and Rural Health of the International Committee on Occupational Health (ICOH).

The Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases (NCOD) is the Dutch Knowledge Center in medical consequences of work. Main functions are the national monitoring and notification of OD’s, knowledge transfer, clinical activities and advisory work for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour.

Federal Environment Agency, Dessau-Rosslau
Heidi Becker

Dr. Heidi Becker received her graduate degree in Biology from University of Leipzig, Germany. She completed her Ph.D. from the Department of Cell Toxicology at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research Leipzig, Germany. She was a visiting scientist in 2004-2005 at the School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Nutritional Sciences Research Division, King’s College London, UK and for three month at the Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Canada. Since 2007 she is employed at the Federal Environment Agency, Germany as a scientific assistant.

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is Germany’s central federal authority on environmental items. UBA acts as Germany’s contact point for many international environmental and health related organizations, including the WHO. The Section of Toxicology is interested in the potential human health effects of nano materials.

CEA, Paris
Natalie Herlin

Natalie Herlin graduated in physical chemistry University of Paris XI-Orsay and passed her PhD in quantum optics laboratory of the “Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales. Her present position is the Head of the Laser Pyrolysis Activity in the Nanometric Structure Group. She is currently working on a European project, managing 5 Dr. and 3 PhD students, co-author of 6 patents and about 80 publications in peer reviewed Journals, co-author of two AFSSET reports devoted to "Safety at Work with NPs".

CEA is a French government-funded research organisation and an important player in the European Research Area. It is mainly involved in the fields of Energy, Defense, Information and Health technologies. CNRS  is the other major actor of research in France. SPAM-LFP is a research unit of CNRS and CEA (URA 2453). In SPAM-LFP, the "Nanometric structure" group is involved in the control of the synthesis of nano-objects and nano-structures and aims achieving a good control of chemical composition of nano-objects, their functionalisation, size, structure and organisation.