Linus Wiklund

Hello!

I am a doctoral student in Anna Beronius' research group at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM). I started my current position as a PhD student in the unit of biochemical toxicology in 2021, after getting my master's degree in toxicology in 2020.

My research project is titled “A Novel Mechanism-Based Approach for Assessment of Developmental Toxicity of Endocrine Disruptors”. The project’s objective is to develop risk assessment methodology that utilizes mechanistic data from New Approach Methods (NAMs) to facilitate animal-free identification of developmental toxicity by Endocrine Disruptors (EDs).

My work is primarily focused on utilization of mechanistic data from non-animal methods in the assessment of EDs. The data I use come from different types of methods, such as computational approaches, cell-based methods, and experiments in zebrafish embryos. I aim to develop Next Generation Risk Assessment methodology to perform identification of EDs based on these mechanistic data, and identify opportunities and challenges with my approach and the application of AOPs.

In my research, I employ a variety of methodologies including Systematic Review methodology, Weight-of-Evidence assessments, and application of the Adverse Outcome Pathway framework. I also frequently use the R programming language for various tasks, for example to generate AOP networks and to analyze transcriptomics and metabolomics data.
I mainly perform computational and literature-based studies, but I have also used the zebrafish embryo model to generate transcriptomics data.

I contribute to some teaching activities at the master's programme in Toxicology at KI, as a tutor during journal clubs in a couple of courses and as a tutor during a long group assignment in the Health Risk Assessment course. Moreover, I helped develop an interactive teaching activity on the use of New Approach Methodologies in risk assessment in the same course.