Dr. Claus Svendsen

Claus is head of pollution science at UKCEH. His work revolves around developing 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.

Claus's research interest and projects include nanoecotoxicology, 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 work at UKCEH is to address fate (transport, distribution and transformation), uptake and effects of exposure relevant (ie. releases and environmentally processed/aged) nano materials. This includes developing scaled down versions of 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.

Claus has authored or co-authored more than 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 nanomaterials from FP4 to H2020, with other major funding from NERC (UK), EFSA and Defra (UK).

He received a PhD in Earthworm biomarkers from the University of Reading (2000), an MSc (Distinc.) in Ecotoxicology from Odense University, Denmark (1996) and a degree in Biology and Chemistry from Odense University (1992).