Mattias Öberg

My main area of research is health risk assessment of chemicals. It is a multidisciplinary field and I work in close collaboration with a large network of Swedish and international researchers, authorities and organisations.

My current research focuses on advancing the scientific basis for chemical risk assessment, with a particular emphasis on PFAS. I am involved in the development of a PFAS Forensics and Solutions Lab, a cross-disciplinary initiative that brings together environmental science, toxicology, modelling, and policy to better understand and manage chemical risks under changing environmental and societal conditions. In parallel, I lead research using lipidomics to investigate how PFAS exposure affects blood lipid profiles and contributes to cardiovascular disease risk. By combining population-based studies, including highly exposed cohorts such as Ronneby, with mechanistic studies in human-derived cell systems, we aim to identify biomarkers and mechanistic pathways that can improve future risk assessment of PFAS and other chemical mixtures.

Through these projects, my research seeks to strengthen the scientific foundation for regulatory decision-making and contribute to improved protection of human health in a world increasingly shaped by complex chemical exposures. In order to strengthen use of current research in society, I have chosen to get involved in applied academic work. I am a member of the Nordic Expert Group for chemical risk assessment in occupational settings and part of the EFSA Advisory Group for Biomarkers of Effects. I also chair the national committee for the European Registered Toxicologists (ERT). Moreover, I am the expert coordinator in chemical and toxicological incidents at the Centre for Health Crises at Karolinska Institutet and toxicological director of the Swedish faculty for Advanced Hazmat Life Support (AHLS).

I am deeply committed to outreach and communicating knowledge about the health risks of chemicals. I have been engaged as an expert witness in several trials, and I participated and produced the podcast Riskzonen and the documentary Mörkt Vatten by Spotify Doc. The latter received the Swedish Radio Academy's Guldörat award for Best Scoop in 2023. I am also the author of the book Ingen anledning till oro (Volante, 2025), which explores one of the largest environmental health scandals of our time—PFAS contamination—through the intertwined perspectives of science, regulation, and lived experience.

Current research projects as main project leader:

• Blood lipid profiling to explore effects of PFAS with relevance for cardiovascular disease in humans (Financial support: Formas)
• Shadows around dark waters (Financial support: Formas)
  
  Other reasech projects:
• PFAS Forensics and Solutions Lab: Cross-domain exploration and mitigation of chemical risk under climate and socio-environmental change for a chemically safe future (PI: Zou Liangchao, KTH, Financial support: Formas)
• PERFORCE3, a Innovative Training Network about perfluorinated chemicals. (PI: Ian Cousins; Financial support: European Union’s Horizon 2020)
• Phthalates in female reproduction – impact of mixture composition on hazard characterization (PI: Pauliina Damdimopoulou, Karolinska Institutet, Financial support: Formas)

My teaching activities include lectures, course leadership, and supervision of master’s and PhD students. The commitment is to train the next generation of toxicologists, with a focus on equipping students to address complex, real-world challenges in chemical risk assessment and sustainability. I serve as course leader for Global Sustainability in Toxicology within the Master’s Programme in Toxicology, and I teach advanced-level courses in risk assessment. My teaching experience spans all levels, from high school outreach to undergraduate education, as well as master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral training, reflecting a continuous engagement in building capacity across the full academic pipeline.

I have been the main supervisor for three PhD students:

• Mia Johansson (2016) - Asthmatics as a susceptible population in health risk assessment of airbourne chemicals
• Joakim Ringblom (2016) - Worth weighting for - Studies on benchmark dose analysis in relation to animal ethics in toxicity testing
• Antero Silva (2022) - Application of the Benchmark dose response approach for risk characterisation of chemicals
• Lars Brunken (2025) - Chemical hazard characterization of PFAS: Current approaches in dose-response assessments and the lipidomic disruption in human cell models