Pim Leonards, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Pim Leonards (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) is professor of Environmental Bioanalytical Chemistry, and focuses his research on the link between environmental chemical exposure and the effects on metabolic processes, functioning of organisms and phenotypical changes. The focus is on metabolic profiling of various biological species to unravel the effects of toxic contaminants: mechanism of toxicity. Currently, he co-coordinates the H2020 European ENDpoiNTs project that develops novel testing strategies to identify endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) that induce human developmental neurotoxicity (DNT). Clear evidence supports associations between EDC exposure and impaired neurodevelopment. Yet, current hazard assessment of EDCs does not address developmental neurotoxicity. This is due to a lack of scientific knowledge on how endocrine disruption is linked to DNT. In this project the link between endocrine disruption and DNT at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organism and behavioural level is studied using in vitro (e.g. organoids) and in vivo models (rodent, zebrafish).