Linuron effects on human fetal ovary development

As I aspire to lead my own research group investigating the effects of environmental factors on human fetal development, I need to build towards competitive independence for a tenure-track position. To achieve this, I plan to leverage the Wellcome Accelerator award. I will launch my own research project characterising effects of an environmental contaminant, the herbicide linuron, on human fetal ovarian development. While one study showed that maternal exposure to linuron adversely impacts developing rat ovaries, no equivalent human study has been published. While strengthening existing collaborations and initiating new ones, including in my home country French Guiana, this project will build my expertise in endocrine disruption and use techniques I developed while involved in the EU FREIA project. Additionally, I will publish results from an innovative NHS Grampian Endowments funded spatial genomics study exploring the effects of air pollution black carbon nanoparticle proximity on the epithelial cell transcriptome in human fetal lungs. This work builds on my expertise in developmental and reproductive toxicology. I will harness diverse expertise and methodologies from collaborations to enable impactful findings. Taken together this will further develop a strong professional reputation, making me a highly competitive candidate for research leadership opportunities.