Chemicals are essential for human well-being. However, the production and use of chemicals can harm the environment. As a postdoctoral researcher, you will focus your research on the development, support and implementation of novel methods to assess the environmental risks of chemicals, with a special focus on pharmaceuticals and microplastics. In addition, you will contribute to educational activities and the management of research projects in the domain of environmental risk assessment. The Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA) group of the Department of Environmental Science is actively involved in the development of new methodologies to assess the environmental risks of chemicals. We have a strong focus on computer models that simulate the emission, fate and effects of chemicals in the environment. We aim to develop models that are fit for purpose, i.e. models that can be used by environmental managers to avoid and mitigate environmental risks of chemicals. As a group, we participate in several large-scale European research projects in which such models are being developed and applied in practice, for example PREMIER (pharmaceuticals), LABPLAS (microplastics) and TransPharm (pharmaceuticals).
As a postdoctoral researcher you will work on methodological innovations addressing specific challenges in the environmental risk assessment of chemicals, such as:
- Predicting the environmental biodegradability of chemicals (e.g. in wastewater treatment plants), based on molecular descriptors and/or environmental parameters.
- Predicting the environmental toxicity of chemicals based on read-across from empirical toxicity data of chemicals with a similar structure or mode of action.
- Describing the fate of microplastics in rivers.
- Developing secondary poisoning models for ionising substances.
- Developing and applying emission estimation techniques for chemicals (e.g. pharmaceuticals, pesticides and microplastics).
- Dealing with spatial differences in risk assessment.
You will carry out the above-mentioned tasks in close collaboration with the senior researcher and the postdocs and PhD candidates in the team. Within the context of the above-mentioned research projects, you will be expected to collaborate with international project partners. As a member of the HERA team, you will contribute to several courses and other educational activities. You will be expected to assist the senior researcher in managing some of the above-mentioned research projects.