New head of Ecotoxicology Centre

1 September 2010

On 1 September Dr. Inge Werner took up her new position as Head of the Ecotox Centre at Eawag and EPFL. Inge Werner joins the Centre from the University of California in Davis, USA, where she spent the last 5 years heading the Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory (ATL) and teaching in her capacity as Adjunct Professor. The ATL is a government-certified laboratory studying water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems across California. The zoologist collaborated with local and state authorities on many applied projects in the field of aquatic ecotoxicology. Previous to this she was engaged for many years in ecotoxicology research at the University of California; here, too, her predilection for field work, practical applications and interdisciplinarity were apparent to all.

Inge Werner is now relishing the prospect of applying her experience to the Ecotox Centre and contributing to the science of applied ecotoxicology in Switzerland. In the light of the science’s rather delicate relations with policymakers, she is impressed by Switzerland’s readiness to embrace and promote ecotoxicology. She explains: “Ecotoxicology often lifts the lid on environmental problems that require expensive measures to resolve them, and the solutions are seldom simple.”

Inge Werner’s particular interest in the sublethal effects of chemicals on organisms, damage to immune systems, behavioural change and the effects of pseudo-hormones dates back to her student days. In the past the biologist has specialised in the effect of pesticides on aquatic species not targeted by the pesticides, but she is also interested in the development of effective methods for the monitoring and early recognition of environmental damage.