News
March 2023 - New Mphil candidate!
Welcome Robin Kaur to EXPECT! In 2020, Robin completed her BSc (Hons) research into the responses of Synechococcus to environmental stimuli: Temperature, Light, and Reactive Oxygen Species at Newcastle University. Robin is continuing with microalgae research and will investigate the effects of chemicals and mixtures on R. baltica. For the EXPECT project, she is supporting the selection of high throughput small scale in vivo and in vitro approaches are suitable proxies for large scale Arctic eco-toxicity testing of single pollutants and their mixtures, whilst developing AEPs and AOPs for industrial use. This is vital research for EXPECT, as a need for experimental approaches that can reliably assess the potential impact of mixtures of environmentally relevant Arctic pollutants using relevant Arctic species is required.
Building PBPK modeling capacity
In Fall of 2022, Greg Langlois completed the physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling in toxicology and risk assessment course offered by the University of Florida. The course focused on developing PBPK models using both proprietary and open-source software. Key concepts included a comprehensive understanding of mathematical descriptions of the fundamental toxicological principles of Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion, how to adapt PBPK models for different compounds, and how to calibrate and evaluate model performance. The concepts and skills developed during this course will be invaluable in developing novel models in support of the EXPECT project.
Kyoto-Vienna biomath workshop
In December 2022, Dr. Barkha Tiwari participated of the Kyoto-Vienna biomath WORKSHOP hosted by the Erwin Schrödinger Institute, Vienna, Austria.
In the event, mathematicians and biologists were presented to a platform which can provide a comprehensive overview of the various self-organization mechanisms operating at different scales and the mathematical models by which they can be described or explained. Barkha will be encouraged to apply her learnings from the workshop in the context of the EXPECT project.
You can watch the workshop presentations here: YouTube playlist.
New Postdoc for EXPECT!
Barkha Tiwari has started working as a postdoc on the project! Barkha will develop and use mathematical/statistical models for integrated data analysis. She will also be involved in the development of a Source to Outcome Predictor and establishing Next Generation Risk Assessments (NGRA) tools. Welcome!
Logo design competition
We are happy to announce the WINNER logo for the EXPECT project, pictured below. 😊 Congratulations!
Thank you all for participating in the competition. We received many great logos and ideas, and the jury had a hard time narrowing the selection down to a few finalists. Congrats to all!
