Thijs Bosker is an Associate Professor in Environmental Sciences. In his research he uses laboratory and field techniques to study the impact of contaminants on the health of ecosystems, with a focus on stress-on-stress scenarios under estuarine conditions. He conducts his research in Canada, the US, the Caribbean and the Netherlands. Extension number: 8375

More information about Thijs Bosker

Biography

Thijs Bosker is an Associate Professor in Environmental Science. In his research he uses laboratory and field techniques to study the impacts of contaminants on ecosystem health, with a focus on stress-on-stress scenarios. He conducts his research in Canada, the US, the Caribbean and the Netherlands. He quantifies the combined impacts of contaminants (e.g. pharmaceuticals in wastewater, microplastics or oil residues) and environmental stressors (e.g. low oxygen or high temperature) on a range of organisms (including plants, invertebrates and fish). He assesses impacts at different levels of biological organization, ranging from physiological changes, to population and community level impacts, and uses this data to predict risk of contaminants on the environment.

In addition, Thijs is passionate about outreach. He regularly gives lectures to the general public, gives workshops to children and appears in the media (newspapers, television and radio). He also runs a citizen science project on microplastics contamination, thereby actively involving the public in his research efforts.

Thijs received his MSc from Wageningen University (the Netherlands), and his PhD from the University of New Brunswick (Canada). Before joining LUC he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut (USA), and a postdoctoral fellow at the Canadian Rivers Institute. At LUC he is a member of the Programme Board, and the teaches courses in the Earth, Energy and Sustainability major, including on ecotoxicology, general biology, sustainability, environmental science and research design.

Extension number: 8375​​

Academic Expertise

• Microplastic distribution in the environment;
• Development of standardized procedures to assess environmental impacts of contaminants;
• Working with citizen scientists to quantify levels of microplatics;
• Stress-on-stress assessment of contaminants (pharmaceuticals in wastewater, microplastics or oil residues);
• Chronic toxicity of contaminants on reproduction and development of organisms;

Courses​

• Research Design
• Environmental Science: Ecosystems and Biodiversity
• Ecotoxicology
• Global Challenges: Sustainability
• Biology