Ksenia Groh

https://www.eawag.ch/en/about-us/portrait/organisation/staff/profile/ksenia-groh/show/

Research Interests

The widespread production and use of synthetic chemicals and materials have led to their pervasive presence in the environment, raising concerns about ecological and human health effects. Freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity are among those affected the most, necessitating better protection. Whole-animal tests traditionally used for hazard assessment are seen as unethical, inefficient, and scientifically outdated. Hence, due to both the 3R concerns and the need for faster testing to handle the ever-increasing chemical numbers and to enable safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) workflows at early R&D stages, animal tests need to be replaced by non-animal alternatives, like cell-based assays. Collectively, such methods are referred to as new approach methodologies (NAMs). While acute toxicity NAMs are relatively well established, chronic toxicity NAMs need further development, which could be guided by improved molecular understanding delivered by omics analyses. Likewise, environmental monitoring tools, which to date largely rely on animal sampling, could benefit from less-invasive approaches, which can be informed by omics-level studies as well.
To address these needs, my group works to advance the use of omics in ecotoxicology, with a particular focus on proteomics and how it can be applied to understand molecular mechanisms of toxicity, enhance the existing test approaches, or develop new ones. My second research area deals with assessment of plastic chemicals, polymers, and materials, where I do both the desk-based research seeking to reveal chemical identities, use and hazard profiles, and the wet-lab studies aiming to implement bioassay-based strategies for evaluating safety of complex materials and for guiding SSbD material innovation at early development stages. 
Alongside the empirical research, I am deeply committed to help transfer research findings into practice and inform science-policy dialogue on chemicals, which I see as part of my professional mission as an independent researcher in environmental sciences, bearing a societal responsibility to uphold environmental protection against chemical threats. I specifically aim to enable faster consideration of novel scientific findings in decision-making on chemical management and biodiversity protection, which I pursue by leading or contributing to knowledge synthesis initiatives and by working with relevant stakeholder organizations. In the last years, I mostly focused on   
i) promoting a wider uptake of NAMs and facilitating the use of omics in chemical risk assessment;
ii) modernizing approaches to regulatory assessment and management of polymers; and                      iii) understanding the impacts of synthetic chemicals on biodiversity and identifying mitigation solutions.
Thus, a particular strength of my group lies in the unique combination of a strong hands-on expertise in bioanalytics and aquatic toxicology with multifaceted involvement in stakeholder interactions at science-policy interfaces. These two types of activities mutually reinforce and cross-pollinate each other, ensuring high scientific and societal relevance and timeliness of my group’s work, and supporting its uptake into policy and practice.