New dissertation within One Health: We congratulate Erica Selin!!
Last changed: 06 December 2023
Erica Selin successfully defended her thesis in late October 2023. We took the opportunity to ask her some questions.
What is "the big idea" about your research and how does it relate to One Health?
"Our research focuses on using genetically modified cell-based methods to measure potential toxic effects that can arise from chemicals existing in food and food packages. By using these cells, we can measure health-relevant effects, like inflammation, DNA-damaging effects and hormone-mediated responses".
What problem does your research help to solve in the short and long term?
"There is a need to develop alternative methods to investigate how chemicals in food and food packages may affect human health, as we are exposed to a large number of chemicals every day and it is impossible to monitor them all using chemical analysis. The use of cell-based methods allows us to measure the whole biological effects, meaning the effects from known, unknown or mixtures of chemicals. These methods be used as an early warning system to detect potentially hazardous chemicals and thereby ensure the safety of food items (such as milk) as well as food packages".
How can your research contribute to a more sustainable world, what impact at the societal level can the results contribute to?
"There is an increasing societal demand to recirculate materials, however, by doing so, there is also a risk that hazardous chemicals within e.g. food packaging can migrate into food and thereby expose the general population. By using our cell-based methods, we can evaluate the possible hazardous effects, which not only contributes to assessing the safety of food packages but also allows us to achieve a more sustainable world".
What is your plan for the near future?
"I am continuing with research and will start a new position as a post-doc fellow at Örebro University in Professor Magnus Engwall's group in January".
We wish Erica the best of luck in her future career!