08. September 2023, Topic: Aquatic Ecotoxicology Soil Ecotoxicology Sediment Ecotoxicology Risk Assessment

Eva Lauber and Fabian Balk reinforce risk assessment

We are looking forward to collaborate with our new colleagues.

Eva Lauber joined the Ecotox Centre team on 1 May 2023 to assess the risk of chemicals in water and soil: she is currently working on ecotoxicological reference values for pesticides in soils and on quality criteria for rare earth elements, which belong to the metal group. Eva studied horticulture and organic agriculture in Budapest and did her PhD on the effect of genetically modified maize, which produces bacterial toxins, on protected butterflies. She then worked in Hungary, the UK and Austria on prospective risk assessment of plant protection products in the context of their authorisation. Now she is looking forward to a change in perspective and to making risk assessment better and more efficient and thereby have a positive impact on the environment.

Fabian Balk started as a scientist at the Ecotox Centre in August 2023. He is committed to improving the assessment of chemical mixtures as part of the European PARC project and applying this to risk assessment in soils. Fabian studied biology and environmental sciences in Aachen and Stockholm. He wrote his doctoral thesis at Eawag on the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of ionisable organic substances in fish cell cultures. In doing so, he also applied mathematical models to draw conclusions from bioaccumulation in single cells to the organism as a whole. "I appreciate the opportunities to make a positive contribution to society at the Ecotox Centre and that my work has a direct political dimension," says Fabian.