Science awards archive

2017 Science Awards

Environmental science related award

 

SETAC Europe 27th Annual Meeting: Young Scientist Awards (YSA)

07-11 May 2017, Brussels, Belgium

 

The ECETOC Best Platform Award honours the early career scientist with the best platform presentation at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting. At SETAC 2017, the award went to Richard Cross of the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, United Kingdom, for his presentation on “Routes of uptake and bioaccumulation of cerium oxide and silver nanoparticles depend on their fate in sediments.”

More information on the SETAC Nantes meeting can be found at https://brussels.setac.org/ and http://globe.setac.org/2017/june/setac-awards.html

Richard Cross accepts the Best Platform Award

Short Abstract:  
Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) undergo myriad transformations upon entering the aquatic environment, depending not only upon the composition of the particles but also the physicochemical properties of the surrounding media. Sediments are predicted to be a major sink of NPs released into the aquatic environment due to processes of aggregation and sedimentation occurring over relatively short timescales of a matter of hours to days in freshwaters. What is less understood is if NPs entering sediments will have the same capacity for toxicity as particles in suspension in the overlying water? Will transformations in sediments reduce or enhance nanoparticle bioavailability? Will these transformations be the same for NPs of different core or surface properties?

This work aims to address some of these questions. Specifically we hypothesise that the persistence of dissolution products or a colloidal fraction of NPs in sediment pore waters will allow for transdermal uptake of NPs into sediment dwelling species. We generated two viable phenotypes of the sediment dwelling aquatic worm, Lumbriculus variegatus through fragmentation to produce feeding and non-feeding worms. These were exposed to cerium oxide (CeO2¬ NPs) or silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) stabilised either electrostatically with citrate or sterically with PEG (mono mPEG phosphonic acid ester). A combination of centrifugation and ultrafiltration techniques were employed alongside the biological exposures to examine the fate of nanoparticles in the sediment pore waters, quantifying the colloidal fraction containing CeO2or Ag NPs

Results indicate that NPs which associate with the solid fraction of the sediment and do not dissolve within the sediments (CeO2 NPs) were only available through ingestion. These particles were also less bioavailable than Ag NPs and neither their fate nor accumulation differed between the two forms of stabilisation. PEG coated Ag NPs experienced significantly greater accumulation of Ag through transdermal uptake than either Citrate-Ag or silver nitrate and not all of this transdermal uptake of Ag could be accounted for by dissolution. The cause for this is the focus of ongoing experiments to be discussed in more detail during the presentation, alongside ongoing investigations into Ag NP transformations during the gut transition in these aquatic worms and their kinetic uptake from sediments over time.

Human health science related award

Eurotox 2017: ECETOC Christa Hennes Young Scientist Award

10-13 September 2017, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

 

This early career award for toxicological research into mechanisms and risk assessment is supported by ECETOC and is presented to young scientists at the EUROTOX Annual Meetings. In 2014, the award was re-named in memory of the late Dr. Christa Hennes, former ECETOC Human Health Sciences Manager, who was instrumental in its organisation. The winner receives a monetary prize and a free invitation to the following year’s Eurotox meeting.

The 2017 ECETOC Christa Hennes Early Career Award was presented at EUROTOX, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, to Pavlína Šimečková of the Veterinary Research Institute in the Czech Republic, for “PCB 153 increases degradation of connexin 43 via induction of autophagy in liver progenitor cells.”

Eurotox 2017 website: www.eurotox2017.com

Pavlina Šimečková, the 2017 ECETOC EUROTOX Award winner

2016 Science Awards

Environmental science related award

SETAC Europe 26th Annual Meeting: Young Scientist Awards (YSA)

22-26 May 2016, Nantes, France

 

The ECETOC Best Platform Award honours the early career scientist with the best platform presentation at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting. The award at SETAC Europe, Nantes 2016, went to Yuan Pan, of the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, for her presentation on ‘Using the ecosystem services framework to link scientific research and policy-making: a case study of Lake Tai, China.’ More information on the SETAC Nantes meeting can be found at http://nantes.setac.eu

 

 

 

Human health science related award

Eurotox 2016: ECETOC Christa Hennes Young Scientist Award

04-07 September 2016, Seville, Spain

This is a Best Poster Award for toxicological research into mechanisms and risk assessment, selected by a panel in which ECETOC participates at the EUROTOX Annual Meeting. In 2014, the award was re-named in memory of the late Dr Christa Hennes, former ECETOC Human Health Sciences Manager, who was instrumental in its organisation.

At EUROTOX, Seville 2016, this award was won by Marlon Jetten of Maastricht University for her abstract: ‘Development of short- term assay(s) to predict dermal cancer potential of petroleum streams’. The winner receives a monetary prize and a free invitation to the following year’s Eurotox meeting. Eurotox 2016 website: http://www.eurotox2015.com/

2015 Science Awards

In 2015 ECETOC has sponsored the following awards for young scientists and is proud to announce this year‘s winners:

Environmental science related award

SETAC Europe 25th Annual Meeting: Young Scientist Awards (YSA)
03-07 May 2015 Barcelona, Spain

The ECETOC Best Platform Award honours the early career scientist with the best platform presentation at the SETAC Europe 25th Annual Meeting. The award winner receives a monetary prize and free registration to the next SETAC Europe Annual Meeting.

Daniela Batista of the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal (Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology) won the 2015 award for her presentation ‘Pollution induced community tolerance of microbial decomposers to silver nanoparticles’.

Daniela Batista is bachelor in Applied Biology (2008, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal), and she has a master degree in Environmental Toxicology (2010, Institute of Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Portugal). Presently, she is developing her doctoral studies at the Research Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology of the University of Minho, Portugal. During her master thesis, D. Batista investigated the effects of increased temperature on freshwater decomposers along a gradient of cadmium stress, which resulted on a publication in the journal “Environmental Pollution”. From 2010 to 2013, she was grantee several competitive projects funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). In 2013, with a grant from FCT, D. Batista started the PhD studies on the impacts of silver nanoparticles on freshwater detritus food webs, in a warming scenario. During her PhD studies, and supported by bilateral collaborative projects, she had the opportunity to develop work abroad, namely at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (Germany) and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Switzerland).

Human health science related award

Eurotox 2015: ECETOC Christa Hennes Young Scientist Award
13-16 September 2015, Porto, Portugal

In 2014, this award was renamed in memory of Dr Christa Hennes who sadly passed away in December 2013 and who was instrumental in organising this award. This is a Best Poster Award for toxicological research into mechanisms and risk assessment, selected by a panel in which ECETOC participates. The winner receives a monetary prize and a free invitation to the following year’s EUROTOX meeting.

The 2015 winner was Eiki Kimura of the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (Department of Medicine) for the poster on ‘AhR activation and TCDD exposure impair dendritic morphology in the developing olfactory bulb’.

2014 Science Awards

 

In 2014 ECETOC has sponsored the following awards for young scientists and is proud to announce this year‘s winners:

Environmental science related award

SETAC Europe 2014: Young Scientist Award
15 May 2014 Basel, Switzerland

The ECETOC Best Platform Award honours the early career scientist with the best platform presentation at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting. The award winner receives a monetary prize and free registration to the next SETAC Europe Annual meeting.

Steffi Böhme of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Department of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology) won this year’s award for her presentation ‘Visualisation of silver nanoparticle uptake by Laser Ablation – Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry’.

http://basel.setac.eu/awards_programme/young_scientist_award

Human health science related award

Eurotox 2014: ECETOC Christa Hennes Young Scientist Award
7-10 September 2014, Edinburgh, Scotland

In 2014, the award has been renamed in memory of Dr Christa Hennes who sadly passed away in December 2013 and who was instrumental in organising this award. This is a Best Poster Award for toxicological research into mechanisms and risk assessment, selected by a panel in which ECETOC participates. The winner receives a monetary prize and a free invitation to the following year’s EUROTOX meeting.

The 2014 winner is Dr Laura Pastor Castro of the University of Navarra, Spain, for her abstract “Sex-dependent gene expression of kidney transporters after ochratoxin A exposure in F344 rats”.

2013 Science Awards

In 2013 ECETOC sponsored the following awards for young scientists and is proud to announce this year‘s winners:

Environmental science related award

The ECETOC Best Platform Award honours the early career scientist with the best platform presentation at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting. The award winner receives a free registration to the next SETAC Europe Annual meeting and travel and accommodation support. She/he also receives a free SETAC membership.

This year’s Best Platform Award has been awarded to Julita Stadnicka-Michalak, Eawag, Switzerland, for her talk entitled: “Predicting toxicity to fish based on in vitro data”.

 

Download abstract PDF

http://glasgow.setac.eu

 

Human health science related award

This is a Best Poster Award for toxicological research into mechanisms and risk assessment, selected by a panel in which ECETOC participates. The winner receives a monetary prize and a free invitation to the following year’s EUROTOX meeting.

This year’s Young Scientist Award on human health sciences, presented at the EUROTOX annual meeting in Interlaken, Switzerland, has been awarded to Olesja Bondarenko of the Estonian National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics for her poster presentation on ‘Biological effects of nanoparticles of silver, gold, TiO2 and nanoporous silica to selected invertebrate species and bacteria: FP7 project NanoValid.’

Download abstract PDF

http://www.eurotox2013.com

2012 Science Awards

Exposure sciences related award

The ECETOC “young scientist‘ award at X2012 (7th International Conference on the Science of Exposure Assessment, organised by the British Occupational Hygene Society) was awarded to Katleen de Brouwere from Vito in Belgium for her paper “mechanistic risk assessment of indoor air pollutants: exposure to phthalates‘. Katleen successfully applied the methodology developed in the context of TAGS by Dr Alberto Gotti and Dr Spyros Karakitsios of CERTH (GR). The X2012 jury all agreed that Katleen‘s paper was of a very high standard and that the concepts she addressed (which arise from the CEFIC-LRI supported TAGS project) take the science of multi source, multi pathway consumer exposure and risk assessment to a new level. Indeed there was much subsequent discussion on how the concepts might also be applied to worker and environmental exposures.

Katleen de Brouwere (Vito, Belgium) and Chris Money (ExxonMobil)

For more information on the 7th International Conference on the Science of Exposure Assessment

Environmental science related award

The ECETOC Best Platform Award honours the early career scientist with the best platform presentation at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting. The award winner receives a free registration to the next SETAC Europe Annual meeting and travel and accommodation support. She/he also receives a free SETAC membership.

This year‘s Best Platform Award has been awarded to Dorothea Gilbert, Aarhus University, Denmark, for her talk entitled: Passive dosing under the microscope reveals that microorganisms enhance the mass transfer of hydrophobic organic chemicals.

http://berlin.setac.eu/

Human health science related award

This is a Best Poster Award for toxicological research into mechanisms and risk assessment, selected by a panel in which ECETOC participates. The winner receives a monetary prize and a free invitation to the following year‘s EUROTOX meeting.

This year‘s Young Scientist Award on human health sciences, presented at the EUROTOX annual meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, has been awarded to Camille Béchaux, Anses France for her poster presentation on: Dynamical modeling of dietary exposure to dioxins and corresponding present and future health risk: A case study in France

2011 Science Awards

Environmental science related award

The ECETOC Best Platform Award honours the early career scientist with the best platform presentation at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting. The award winner is invited to the SETAC Annual Meeting and is offered the opportunity to submit the manuscript for publication in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (ET&C) with the page charges paid by SETAC Europe. She/he also receives a free SETAC membership.

This year‘s Young Scientist Award at SETAC Europe has been awarded to Charles Hazlerigg from Syngenta for his platform presentation: ‘The importance of density dependence and intra-specific interactions in population models for use in risk assessment“. The research has been carried out in collaboration with the Imperial College London and the University of Exeter.

http://milano.setac.eu/

Human health science related award

This year‘s Young Scientist Award on human health sciences research, presented at the EUROTOX annual meeting, has been awarded to Amy Zmarowski of NOTOX, Netherlands, for her poster presentation: ‘Differential effects of methylazoxymethanol and MK-801 administration on learning and memory impairment in Sprague Dawley and Wistar Han rats“.

This is a Best Poster Award for toxicological research into mechanisms and risk assessment, selected by a panel in which ECETOC participates. The winner receives a monetary prize and a free invitation to the following year‘s EUROTOX meeting.

http://www.eurotox.com

2010 Science Awards

Human health related science award

This year’s ECETOC Young Scientist Award on human health related research has been awarded to Céline Brochot, INERIS, France, and to Taku Tanaka,University Piacenza, Italy, for their work on combining multimedia models with physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling as part of the European project 2-FUN. Their work was presented in a poster at this year’s meeting of the IUTOX (International Union of Toxicology) / EUROTOX congress on 19-23 July 2010 in Barcelona. http://www.iutox2010.org, http://www.2-fun.org

Environmental science related award

This year’s ECETOC Young Scientist Award on environmental research has been won by Ms. A.M. Boulay of the École Polytéchnique, Montréal, Canada. She was chosen for the award for her excellent research on “Using GIS to evaluate regional human health impacts from water use’ and the platform presentation at the annual conference of SETAC Europe on 23rd-27th May 2010 in Seville

2009 Science Awards


John Doe presents the ‘Next generation of scientists award’ to Jillian Ross
of CXR Biosciences in Dundee at the 2009 ECETOC Annual Technical Meeting

Environmental science related award

The 2009 environmental science award for a young scientist was presented to Lucia Vergauwen of the University of Antwerp for her platform paper “An integrated study to the effects of temperature acclimation in zebrafish” which she gave at the annual meeting of SETAC Europe.

Occupational health and exposure award

The 2009 young scientist award on research on occupational health and exposure was given to Craig Moore of Newcastle University for his platform presentation “The influence of everyday clothing on percutaneous absorption and distribution of model penetrants in vitro” at the OEESC (Occupational and Environmental Exposure of Skin to Chemicals) 2009 conference.

Human health related science award

The third of the 2009 young scientist awards was presented at the EUROTOX 2009 meeting. It went to Katherina Sewald of the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine for her poster presentation: “Respiratory toxicology and immunotoxicology in human precision lung slices (PCLS)”.

Next generation of scientists award

Additionally in 2009 and with the objective of encouraging the involvement of young scientists in the work of ECETOC, a poster competition was held on the occasion of the 2009 annual meetings. Participants at the annual meetings voted for the winner: Jillian Ross of CXR Biosciences in Dundee, who presented her poster entitled: “Human constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) supports the hypertrophic but not the hyperplastic response to the murine non-genotoxic carcinogen phenobarbital in vivo”. The chairman of the Scientific Committee had the pleasure to present her with a commemorative copy or Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species”. This was considered symbolic as not only was 2009 the second centenary of Darwin’s birth, but also he was a conspicuously young scientist. He was only 22 when he left on the famous voyage of “The Beagle”.

2008 Science Awards

Environmental science related award

The ECETOC Young Scientist Award at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Setac) Europe Annual Congress (Warsaw, Poland, 25-29 May 2008) went to: Ms Emma Schymanski of the UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany for her platform presentation, entitled “The use of MS classifiers and structure generation to assist in the identification of unknowns in effect-direct analysis.’

Human health related science award

The ECETOC Young Scientist Award at the European Societies of Toxicology (Eurotox) Annual Congress (Rhodes, Greece, 5-8 October 2008) went to: Ms Nathalie Lambrecht of CARDAM VITO in Belgium for her poster, entitled “Pathway analysis of dendritic cell markers for skin sensitization.’

2007 Science Awards

Health sciences related research

On the occasion of the 2007 EUROTOX (Federation of European Toxicologists and Societies of Toxicology) Annual Congress 7-10 October in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, ECETOC was pleased to present its Young Scientist Awards to two researchers who had worked together on their posters entitled “Aging influences segment-specific toxicity of the proximal tubule caused by chemicals. I. Histopathological and biochemical findings’ by Rossella Defazio et al., and “II. Gene expression in kidney tissue’ by Arianna Chiusolo et al., both from GlaxoSmithKline, Verona, and the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, University of Padova, Italy.

Environmental science related research

Within the framework of its commitment to encourage promising scientists, ECETOC supported the Young Scientist Best Platform Award at the 2007 SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) Europe Annual Meeting, 20-24 May 2007 in Porto, Portugal. ECETOC was pleased to present this award to Mr. Thijs van Boxtel of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for his platform presentation: “Mechanisms of toxicity of polybrominatedphenoxyphenols and anisols of natural and anthropogenic origin in the zebra fish.’

Epidemiology related research

For the first time in 2007, ECETOC sponsored a young scientist award for epidemiology related science in association with the International Commission on Occupational Health’s Scientific Committee on Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH). On the occasion of their Annual Congress (Banf, Canada, 9-12 October 2007) this was awarded to Jennifer Cavallari, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School for Public Health, for her poster entitled “Circadianvariation of heart rate variability following metal-rich fine particle exposures in boiler maker construction workers.’