Courses in Ecotoxicology

Bachelor courses

BB526: Basic ecotoxicology (5 ECTS)

After a brief introduction to the basic concepts of toxicology you will learn about the effects the major environmental pollutants on wildlife. Although many compounds have been banned for decades some still cause problems today and you will learn how to investigate effects of chemicals in the environment.

BB544 and BB524: Pharmaceutical toxicology A and B (5 ECTS each)

The two courses will provide you with a thorough knowledge of all the fundamentals of toxicology. In the first course you will learn how chemicals are taken up, distributed, metabolized and excreted and why certain organs are susceptible to certain chemicals.

In the second course you will study the toxicology of specific classes of chemicals including endocrine disrupting chemicals, metals, natural compounds and pharmaceuticals in the environment. Further you will be introduced to mechanistic reasons behind species differences in toxicity emphasizing the pitfalls in predicting effects of chemicals in humans from animal experiments. As a biologist, do not get scared by the word ‘Pharmaceutical’. Pharmaceuticals are almost always the compounds for which the mode of action is best known making them perfect for illustrating general mechanisms of toxicity.

Bachelor project (10 or 15 ECTS)

See below

Master courses

FA802: Molecular toxicology (5 ECTS)

During the bachelor courses you have been introduced to all the basic concepts and mechanisms in toxicology. In this course we re-visit them all from a purely mechanistic point of view. The course aims at answering the question: why are some chemicals toxic? The course will enable you to make predictions of the toxicity of compounds based on their chemical structure and after the course you will be able to navigate in the original toxicological literature with confidence.

BB807: Molecular Toxicology (5 ECTS)

The aim of the course is to enable the student to understand, at the molecular level, the mechanisms behind toxicity and the relations between the cellular defence systems against toxicity. This is important in regard to reading and understanding advanced original literature on toxicological subjects.

BB820: Risk assessment of chemicals (5 ECTS)

For biologists and engineers who are employed in private and public environmental administration, risk assessment of chemicals will be a possible responsibility area. The course will supply the basic theory and terminology necessary for risk assessment of chemicals. The course will give practical experience in performing risk assessment of chemicals

Research Projects (ISA):

- BB810: Research project I (5 ECTS)

- BB811: Research Project II (5 ECTS)

- BB812: Research Project III (10 ECTS)

- BB842: Research Project IV (15 ECTS)

- BB843: Research Project V (2.5 ECTS)

The courses give you the opportunity to participate in on-going research in our labs. You can train your laboratory skills and prepare for your Master project or find out if you would like a certain topic to become the subject of your Master thesis.

Bachelor and Master Projects

Master projects always include a laboratory experiment, field investigations or development and validation of new laboratory methods such as purification of proteins, enzyme assays etc. Bachelor projects (10 or 15 ECTS) can include laboratory work but literature studies are also possible.

Since the time available for a bachelor and even a master project is limited we recommend that you choose a subject related to some of our on-going research. 

Currently we have research projects running in the fields of:

• Endocrine disruption in fish, amphibians and molluscs
• Mercury toxicology
• Effects of pharmaceuticals on wildlife
  
• Invasive species and validation of ballast water treatment systems.

We have a lot of student og because of limited time and resources, every student has to make a 

brief individual motivation description. You will find the document here.