The aim is to discover where differently shaped metal nanoparticles distributes in Danio rerio, linking the distribution with genomic responses and so come up with a Mode of Action.

Can zebrafish larvae be used as a behavioural model for screening natural products as potential neurotropic drugs?

What is the mechanism of action preceding a physiological effects induced by metallic nanoparticles?

What are the risks of nanoparticles?

How to make a quantitative assessment of the relative contribution to toxicity of ions and particles? Is the toxicity of nanoparticles related to their size or shape? Which physicochemical property of nanoparticles is an appropriate dose metric of nanoparticles?

We perform multidisciplinary research at molecular, cellular, and organismal levels of animal biology to increase fundamental understanding of health and disease.

To what extent is sound a stressor to fish? And are behavioural and physiological phenotypes equally sensitive to disturbance by noise pollution?

New funding allows IBL-researcher Herman Spaink to purchase a measurement device for more studies on human diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis using zebrafish as the model system.

IBL-researcher Phil Elks in the group of Annemarie Meijer won the Cell Observatory Publication of the Year 2013. He received the award for his paper in PLoS Pathogens, showing that activation of hypoxia signaling protects against mycobacterial infection.

Recent publications

Overview of the publications of the department of Environmental Biology (1972-2015)