Dr. Claus Svendsen

My work revolves around developing the understanding of how the environment and its organisms deal with stressors, both man-made and natural, as well as their combinations. This understanding is key to help regulators and industry develop and manage safe technological developments of the chemicals that make our everyday lives possible.

My current research interest and projects include nanoecotoxicology (www.NanoFASE.eu), microplastics, pesticides and biological pest control, comparative environmental genomics, bioavailability, and mixture toxicity. The overall focus being on how effects at the mechanistic levels of biology translate into effects for populations and how organisms survive as populations in polluted habitats. For nanomaterials the current emphasis of our work is to address fate (transport, distribution and transformation), uptake and effects of exposure relevant (i.e. releases and environmentally processed/aged) nano materials. This includes developing scaled down versions of our research models and test systems, which can be standardized for use in the regulation and management of chemicals under international Risk assessment and Management policies.

I have authored or co-authored of over 110 papers and several book chapters (h-index 38), and coordinated or been a WP leader or partner in many EU-funded projects on biomarkers, chemical mixtures and nano materials from FP4 – H2020, with other major funding from NERC (UK), EFSA and Defra (UK).

• CEH Group Leader for the Ecotoxicology and Chemical Risk group within CEH’s Pollution Science Area (2017 – onwards)
• Senior manager for the Groups 16 staff and associated PhD students (2017 – onwards)
• Principal researcher in Ecotoxicology
• Co-chair the EU Nano Safety Cluster’s working group on Exposure with responsibility for the environmental section (2017- , full WG chair 2014-17)
• Expert working Group member for EFSA on Mixture (2016-19)
• Expert working Group member for EFSA WG for Risk assessment for Endangered Species (2013-2016) 
• Invited expert on EFSA’s Network on Nanotechnologies
• I have represented the UK and EU at OECD WPMN meetings
• Invited expert by  ECHA onto their Scientific committee for their Topical Workshop on Nanomaterials, and as speaker at their Soil ecotoxicology meeting
• I co-chair the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s Advisory Group on Nanotechnology