Large research grant from Formas
Maria Kippler at the unit of Metals and Health at IMM receives almost 12 million SEK from The Swedish Research Council Formas for the project ”A systems toxicology-based approach to reveal early-life dysregulation of body functions by combined exposures to toxic metals”.
In this project Maria Kippler and her collaborators at several universities in Sweden aim to study the health effects of humans’ ongoing exposure to complex mixtures of chemical substances, including toxic metals, via food, water and various products. The knowledge about the health effects of individual chemical substances is relatively good, but there is very limited knowledge concerning how different substances and factors interact and how the effects of different mixed exposures should be assessed.
This 4-year project is conducted in a newly established birth cohort, called NICE (”Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment”), in Norrrbotten County, Sweden. Maria and her coworkers will analyze the exposure to about fifteen different metals (e.g. cadmium, lead and mercury) and trace elements (e.g. selenium, iodine and fluoride) in the mothers’ during pregnancy and their children at 4, 12 and 48 months of age. The purpose is then to evaluate possible relationships with different omics and health outcomes (function of the immune system, growth and neurodevelopment) and identify various factors that may affect sensitivity, such as when in life and how fetuses and children are exposed.
Maria Kippler:
This large and long-term research grant is of outermost importance for the ongoing interdisciplinary research within NICE. The project is of high relevance for the society and is also linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Contact
Maria Kippler
| Phone: | +46-(0)8-524 874 07 |
| Organizational unit: | Metals and health |
| E-mail: | Maria.Kippler@ki.se |