‘Risk assessment of mixed exposures’ – Take-aways from the 5th EXIMIOUS Symposium

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

‘Risk assessment of mixed exposures’ – Take-aways from the 5th EXIMIOUS Symposium

5 October, 2023

The fifth EXIMIOUS Symposium was held online on Thursday, 28 September 2023, attracting 60 participants. This edition, titled “Risk assessment of mixed exposures: particles, carcinogens, and EU policies”, zoomed in on the topic of combined exposure through three talks by the invited experts Prof. Ulla Vogel (National Research Centre for the Working Environment), Prof. Tiina Santonen (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health), and Dr. Violaine Verougstraete (Eurometaux).

Did you miss (parts of) the event? Read on as we share our key takeaways from the symposium with you. You can also watch the full video recording on the EXIMIOUS YouTube channel.

After a brief introduction to the EXIMIOUS project and the symposium by EXIMIOUS coordinator Prof. Peter Hoet (KU Leuven), the presentations kicked off with a talk by EXIMIOUS researcher Prof. Ulla Vogel from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Denmark. Her research shows that inhalation of particles is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. More specifically, the key mechanism at work involves induction of the acute phase response in the lung and liver. Acute phase response is a systemic response to inflammatory states that can be caused by different factors. The acute phase response is causally related to atherosclerosis. In this case, it is triggered by the particles retained in the lung. This mechanism has been shown to apply to more than 100 different particles and nanomaterials tested. Prof. Vogel also shows that particle size matters when it comes to predicting the health effects of inhaling particles: the acute phase response is predicted by the total surface area of the particles retained in the lung. The take-home message? Cardiovascular disease is a preventable particle-induced occupational disease, and there is a huge preventive potential. The association with particle-induced acute phase response may help us establish safe exposure limits in the future, for both single and mixed exposure.  

There is a huge preventive potential here, and there is evidence that reduction of particle exposure will reduce cardiovascular mortality.

From particles we moved to the risk assessment of combined exposure to carcinogenic metals, the topic of research conducted by Prof. Tiina Santonen and colleagues in the HBM4EU project. As Prof. Santonen explains, when considering the combined effects of exposure to multiple substances, an additive effect is usually assumed if it involves the same target organ and a similar mode of action. However, sometimes the given substances have different dose responses, as illustrated by an HBM4EU case study on hexavalent chromium, nickel, and PAHs using air monitoring. Nickel’s dose response, i.e. the relationship between the level of exposure and the magnitude of the risk effects, is different from that of the other two metals. For this reason, this mode of calculation cannot be considered as fully representative. In one of Prof. Santonen’s ongoing studies, biomonitoring data is taken into account in addition to air monitoring data. Measuring exposure levels in the body, e.g. in urine, means that the impact of respiratory protection worn by workers is also considered. Interestingly, the risk assessment picture resulting from this study is quite different from the one from the previous air monitoring study. Future research will further enhance these insights on different approaches to the risk assessment of combined exposure.

Usually, additivity is assumed in the case of substances which have similar target and similar mode of action, unless there is information on potential synergistic effects.

The final talk took yet another perspective on the topic of mixed exposure: Adding the “regulatory spices on the science” in her own words, Dr. Violaine Verougstraete looked at how the toxicological challenge of mixed exposure will be dealt with in EU policy, in the new REACH legislation in particular. Over the past decades, there has been a growing recognition that exposure to a cocktail of chemicals may also generate risks that are not captured by a substance-by-substance risk assessment. REACH 2.0, currently under revision, will address the challenge of combined exposure by introducing a Mixture Allocation Factor (MAF). This is a default numerical value which adds an uncertainty factor to the risk calculation. As Dr. Verougstraete explained, this can be seen as a kind of shortcut, simplifying the assessment, but it is also very much a pragmatic tool which we have to rely on when we lack most of the data needed to make a more refined assessment. For industry, this means that demonstrating the safety of their products will become more challenging with the required application of the MAF. In this context, Dr. Verougstraete briefly presented the scientific programme launched by Eurometaux to tackle these issues in the metals sector. While the MAF in REACH 2.0 will be a practical basis for decision-making and risk management, she concludes, there are still “a lot of things that are still subject to the scientific community to see whether that concept is actually a valid one and whether we have to adapt it to really provide for safe assessments of substances in the environment.”

There are [...] a lot of things that are still subject to the scientific community to see whether that concept is actually a valid one and whether we have to adapt it to really provide for safe assessments of substances in the environment.

As the three lectures in this symposium have highlighted, the risk assessment of mixed exposures involves many interesting challenges, for scientists, regulators, and industry, not all of which we can solve today. At the same time, it has been encouraging and exciting to see the promising latest scientific progress presented by our three guest speakers. It is evident that their research will have a great impact on the environment and society we live in. The EXIMIOUS consortium would like to thank the speakers for sharing their latest work and valuable insights with the audience.

We are looking forward to bringing you more exposome research highlights at the next EXIMIOUS Symposium in 2024, so stay tuned! If you’d like to be notified about the next symposia you can also subscribe here and we’ll send you an invitation in due time.

AI, environmental exposures and autoimmune diseases – EXIMIOUS’ opinion piece in the EHEN blog

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

AI, environmental exposures and autoimmune diseases - EXIMIOUS' opinion piece in the EHEN blog

27 September, 2023

As of earlier this year, the European Human Exposome Network (EHEN) website features a dedicated Blog with opinion pieces contributed by researchers from the nine EHEN projects (including EXIMIOUS) on challenges and opportunities in the field of exposome research.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the EXIMIOUS project also makes use of it, specifically to uncover patterns and correlations of disease in large datasets. In the project’s opinion piece featured in the EHEN Blog, our partners at Biogenity in conversation with CEO Kenneth Kastaniegaard, take us through the chllenges, opportunities, and lessons learned in using AI for disease prediction. The team at Biogenity aims to discover potential pathways from occupational exposure towards development of autoimmune disease by analyzing nationwide data with AI technologies, focusing on rheumatoid arthritis. In the opinion piece, however, they explore the broader usefulness of AI for exposome research and share their recommendations for the use of AI in dat-driven research.

Read the full opinion piece in the EHEN Blog!

This is an issue that everyone working with AI needs to address: Is the data structured enough to provide the answer I am looking for, and can I trust it? Trust is critical when using these models for any purpose, and it is essential to align expectations with the model’s outcomes.

New charcoal cloth patch measures skin exposure to chemicals: EXIMIOUS at ISES 2023

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

New charcoal cloth patch measures skin exposure to chemicals: EXIMIOUS at ISES 2023

5 September, 2023

On 31 August, EXIMIOUS researcher Rani Claus from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, had the opportunity to present her latest research at the International Society of Exposure Science 2023 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, the US. The ISES meeting took a broad look at new and re-emerging (environmental) exposures and their causal link to human health.

The research conducted by Rani Claus and colleagues from KU Leuven involves the design of a new custom-made activated charcoal cloth patch, intended to measure skin exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC; organic chemical compounds that evaporate easily at room temperature). While it is becoming increasingly important to measure this type of exposure in industrial settings, there are currently no standardised methods to do so. The charcoal cloth patch offers a potential solution to this. 

In the study, the patches were validated and tested on nine spray painting workers in real work conditions. The findings revealed that the patches are capable of accurately measuring skin exposure to VOC in such conditions. Thanks to this innovative custom-made patch, VOC exposure based on the different tasks of workers, such as spray painting, brush painting, VOC immersion or working close to VOC-related tasks, will be better interpreted. In general, occupational dermal exposure will be better assessed, leading to a better understanding of the route of exposure of such volatile chemicals.

Looking back on the conference experience, Rani states: “Attending the ISES 2023 meeting gave me a lot of insight into how the “exposome” is defined from different perspectives of scientists, community members and other stakeholders, creating interesting challenges. This showed the need for a broader assessment of exposure, such as the work we are doing in EXIMIOUS, and the exposome’s connection with human health.”

Attending the ISES 2023 meeting gave me a lot of insight into how the “exposome” is defined from different perspectives, creating interesting challenges. This showed the need for a broader assessment of exposure, such as the work we are doing in EXIMIOUS, and the exposome's connection with human health.

Rani Claus presenting at ISES 2023

Towards a brighter future: EXIMIOUS and the SDGs

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

Towards a brighter future: EXIMIOUS and the SDGs

16 August, 2023

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present a global political agenda addressing today’s most pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. The 17 SDGs are at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a plan of action toward a better future for people and the planet, which was adopted by all UN member states in 2015.

The EU has committed to implementing the agenda and the SDGs across all policies, including in its Research and Innovation programmes, such as Horizon 2020 and its successor, Horizon Europe. According to a 2020 report by the European Commission, 83% of Horizon 2020 projects [1] have contributed to at least one of the SDGs, on average three SDGs per project. As a Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation action aiming to deliver a new way of assessing the human exposome and shed light on its association with immune-mediated diseases, EXIMIOUS contributes especially towards goals 3, 8, 9, and 17 – let’s explore these together.

One of the most well-addressed goals by Horizon 2020, SDG 3 aims to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. Up to 53% of the Horizon 2020 investment [1] potentially relates to this goal, among which is the EXIMIOUS project. One of our main motivations is the desire to improve people’s lives and reduce the incidence of immune-related diseases for all age groups, social classes, and genders.

We aim to achieve this by developing a toolbox of immune fingerprints, which can serve as early predictors of disease risk or early identifiers of health damage caused by exposure. These immune fingerprints are complex, reflecting both environmental exposures and health effects induced by such exposures. To be able to disentangle the exposomic and immunomic components, we will first examine them separately in different cohorts, to eventually bring them together. Indeed, within EXIMIOUS we are working with 12 cohorts: the general population and birth cohorts (LifeLines, ENVIRonAGE, DOC*X and DOC*X Generation) and the occupational cohorts (waste disposal workers, park workers, workers exposed to mineral dust and organic solvents) allow us to better understand the effects related to the exposome, while through the disease cohorts (systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis) we focus on the immune-mediated effects.

The toolbox of immune fingerprints, based on knowledge of exposure-related immune effects, will make it easier to assess the risk of disease in individuals and thus also contribute to better preventive policies.

SDG 8 aims to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”. An important target of this SDG, target 8.8, is to “protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers”. The outcomes of EXIMIOUS will be crucial for our journey towards that target.

One of the three main cohort categories investigated in the EXIMIOUS project involves people with specific occupations. Since people in these occupational cohorts, including waste workers, pest control workers, and mining workers, have been highly exposed to a broad range of organic and chemical materials, they will provide valuable data on the exposome and its health effects. Our aim is to better understand how these occupation-related, environmental exposures are linked to the immune system and how they may affect it. This knowledge can, in turn, inform the industry and policymakers, helping them to create products and policies that contribute to a safer working environment for all.

SDG 9 is to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. EXIMIOUS particularly contributes to target 9.5, which involves enhancing scientific research, encouraging innovation, increasing the number of R&D workers per 1 million people, and increasing public and private R&D spending.

The EXIMIOUS consortium currently comprises about 55 researchers, of which 30% are early-career researchers. The project thus gives these 55 individuals the opportunity to collaboratively work in a Research and Innovation Action (RIA). As “activities aiming to establish new knowledge and/or to explore the feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process, service or solution” [2], RIAs are projects centred on research and development by definition. Especially for early-career researchers, this experience can also significantly help boost their future academic careers.

As an RIA, EXIMIOUS will bring innovation in the fields of environmental health sciences, especially in external and internal exposure assessments, data management, and bioinformatics. One innovation will lie in the discovery of immune fingerprints by using novel ways to assess an individual’s immune system. For assessing the exposome, too, we are using a novel approach by combining methods of characterising and quantifying multiple environmental exposures and mapping exposure-induced immune effects. To combine and analyse the huge datasets we are working with, our partners have developed novel bioinformatics tools based on systems biology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Through the project’s exploitation activities, EXIMIOUS directly contributes to increased public and private R&D spending by showcasing the practical value and tangible outcomes of its research endeavours. In this context, exploitation refers to the translation of research results into innovative products, technologies, and services with societal, economic, or industrial value. This also includes the use of EXIMIOUS findings in new research projects, which advances and continues the R&D activities.

SDG 17 aims to “strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development”. Its targets include sharing knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources through multi-stakeholder partnerships (target 17.16) and promoting public, public-private, and civil society partnerships (target 17.17).

EXIMIOUS contributes to this goal on two levels: not only does the EXIMIOUS consortium itself consist of various stakeholders in the public, private, and civil society sectors, it is also part of the larger European Human Exposome Network (EHEN) spanning nine large-scale projects like EXIMIOUS. It is the world’s largest network of projects studying the impact of environmental exposure on human health, which has been an important area of cooperation between the European Commission and the World Health Organization Europe. By collaborating on metadata, communication, and ethics and law issues in cross-project working groups, the EHEN projects strengthen and support each other in achieving the SDGs.

EXIMIOUS at ISBM-12: From children’s weight growth to hyperspectral imaging

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

EXIMIOUS at ISBM-12: From children’s weight growth to hyperspectral imaging

June 29, 2023

Several EXIMIOUS partners presented their latest research at the 12th International Symposium on Biological Monitoring in Occupational and Environmental Health (ISBM-12) held in Porto, Portugal on 21-23 June 2023. The conference featured three EXIMIOUS-related talks by Dr. Carolina Blanch (imec), Prof. Michelle Plusquin (Hasselt University), and EXIMIOUS coordinator Prof. Peter Hoet (KU Leuven). These were held in a special session on multidisciplinary approaches in exposome research, jointly organised by EXIMIOUS and EPHOR, both EU-funded projects part of the larger European Human Exposome Network (EHEN).

The joint EXIMIOUS-EPHOR session on Friday, 23 June, with about 50 attendees, brought together different disciplines and methods to broaden the current perspectives and discussion on exposome research.

Dr. Carolina Blanch’s hyperspectral imaging work was the topic of the first EXIMIOUS presentation in the session. Hyperspectral imaging is a technique that captures a much wider spectrum of light than just the colours that are visible to the human eye. This extracted information can be used to identify and analyse all kinds of materials and objects. In the EXIMIOUS project, hyperspectral imaging is being used as a powerful tool to measure and analyse silica and other types of metal particles that are present in a particular workplace. According to Dr. Blanch, preliminary experiments are showing a high discrimination accuracy of 15 different particle materials at respirable sizes. This means that hyperspectral cameras, especially when used as a portable tool, could help us make a fast initial estimation of the particles present in an environment, which is valuable information when assessing the various exposures faced by people working in the respective environment. “It was an interesting conference overall and a fruitful session,” says Dr. Blanch, looking back on the event. “Exchanges I had with other participants have led to some new ideas about further potential applications of hyperspectral imaging, such as for the contamination assessment of biological tissues.”

It was an interesting conference overall and a fruitful session. Exchanges I had with other participants have led to some new ideas about further potential applications of hyperspectral imaging, such as for the contamination assessment of biological tissues.

Dr. Carolina Blanch presenting at ISBM-12

Following the hyperspectral imaging presentation, Prof. Michelle Plusquin continued the exposome discussion by looking at weight growth during childhood. In her presented research, various biological factors were explored to understand the complex nature of weight in children, including metabolomics, proteins, and epigenetics. The findings revealed interactions between these different so-called ‘omics’ layers, highlighting the importance of a multi-dimensional approach in unravelling the mechanisms behind weight-related issues.

Finally, our project coordinator, Prof. Peter Hoet, presented a general overview of EHEN and the EXIMIOUS project.

With 5 keynote lectures, 70 posters, and 70 presentations, ISBM-12 was an important event that brought together about 200 of the world’s leading scientists, experts, and students on human biomonitoring.

Prof. Michelle Plusquin presenting at ISBM-12
EXIMIOUS coordinator Prof. Peter Hoet presenting remotely at ISBM-12

Highlights from the EHEN Scientific Meeting and Policy-Research Event 2023

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

Highlights from the EHEN Scientific Meeting and Policy-Research Event 2023

June 20, 2023

Around 140 attendees from the nine EHEN projects gathered to talk and exchange on everything exposome. Held in Leuven, Belgium and online from 30th May to 1st June, the  focus of the first two days was to share the progress and results of the projects’ research with members of the network.

The event was organised by the EXIMIOUS and LongITools project coordination teams, the current EHEN leads, and hosted at KU Leuven. It featured 62 presentations on all aspects of EHEN’s research, spanning an extraordinary range of topics. Notable themes included early life exposures, health effects of air and noise pollution, and projects focusing on urban design. Research techniques presented included statistical methods, metagenomic analysis, cell profiling, biomarkers, and Artificial Intelligence. Details of each project and links to their latest publications can be found on the EHEN website.

Day two wrapped up with an exhibition featuring posters, tools and product demonstrations from all nine projects. Some of the projects’ research tools and guidelines are already publicly available on the EHEN website via its Exposome Toolbox. The exhibition offered the EXIMIOUS team a great opportunity to not only display posters about their latest research but also showcase some of their technologies, devices, software, and instrumentation with hands-on demonstrations.

Members of EHEN in Leuven, Belgium

Exposome Research: Understanding and Addressing Policy Challenges

On day three, EHEN’s Communication, Dissemination and Policy Working Group invited environmental and health policy specialists to an open event with EHEN researchers. With a focus on exposome research-policy exchange, we took the opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of collaborative research and the power of addressing key challenges from different perspectives. 

The event was a step forward in engaging with policymakers, at a point where results and publications from EHEN projects are gathering momentum. The key take-aways for EHEN are:

  • Continue to talk to one another and try to find opportunities for regular interaction and knowledge exchange. 
  • Respond promptly to requests for information from policymakers.
  • Share the key results and messages concisely, in language understood by non-technical experts, using clear terminology and without jargon.
  • Relate key messages to existing policies and initiatives and/or policy needs.
  • Regularly present results collectively, where possible, to ensure a more holistic view.

You can read about the policy-research event in more detail and watch the recording on the EHEN website.

Registration is open for the 5th EXIMIOUS Symposium

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

Registration is open for the 5th EXIMIOUS Symposium

24 May 2023

The fifth EXIMIOUS Symposium, titled “Risk assessment of mixed exposures: particles, carcinogens, and EU policies”, will take place on 28 September 2023. Register now and join us online at 16:00 – 18:00 (CEST) to learn more about combined exposures.

People are often exposed to multiple substances from different sources at the same time. What kind of “cocktail effects” arise when several chemicals mix? And how can we accurately and efficiently assess the health risks caused by such mixed exposures?

Our three invited experts will present their latest research on the topic, each highlighting a different aspect. Prof. Ulla Vogel‘s research suggests that inhaling particles causes an immune defence reaction in the lung and liver which is linked to cardiovascular disease. This finding may be helpful for the risk assessment of combined exposure to particles. After this, prof. Tiina Santonen will share her insights on risk assessment of mixed exposure to various carcinogens at the workplace. Focusing on the bigger policy picture, Dr. Violaine Verougstraete will lead us through the EU’s current regulatory landscape for chemicals (REACH) and explain how challenges linked to the issue of combined exposure are being addressed.

A dedicated time for Q&A will follow each of the presentations. Like our previous symposia, this fifth EXIMIOUS Symposium is open to all audiences.

Programme EXIMIOUS Symposium
Risk assessment of mixed exposures: particles, carcinogens, and EU policies

Time Title Speaker

16:00 - 16:15

Welcome and introduction from the EXIMIOUS coordinator

Prof. Peter Hoet
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

16:15 - 16:50

Particle-induced acute phase response: a causal link between inhalation of particles and cardiovascular disease

Prof. Ulla Vogel
National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark

16:50 - 17:25

Risk assessment of combined occupational exposure to carcinogens: example of hexavalent chromium, nickel and PAHs

Prof. Tiina Santonen
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland

17:25 - 18:00

Can REACH 2.0 tackle the toxicological challenge of combined exposure with a MAF in 2025?

Dr. Violaine Verougstraete
Eurometaux, Belgium

Speakers

Prof. Ulla Vogel is a professor in chemical toxicology in the working environment at the National Research Centre for the Working Environment. She is also an adjunct professor at DTU Food (Technical University of Denmark) and  Honorary Doctor at Lund University. Ulla Vogel is trained as a biochemist with a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Copenhagen. She studied the health effects of inhaled particles for more than 20 years. One of her main research topics is adverse health effects of inhaled particles in relation to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Prof. Tiina Santonen (MD, PhD, MSc in Applied Toxicology) is a research professor at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. She specialises in occupational toxicology, biomonitoring, and chemical risk assessment and has several publications in these fields. She is also heavily involved in regulatory chemical risk assessment and management activities in Finland and the EU. She is a former member of the EU Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) and a current member of ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee (RAC). Within the recent large EU biomonitoring initiative, HBM4EU, she has led occupational biomonitoring surveys and risk assessment activities.

Dr. Violaine Verougstraete studied medicine and industrial toxicology at UCLouvain in Belgium and obtained her PhD in Public Health. As the Chemicals Management Director, Violaine coordinates Eurometaux‘s Chemicals Management activities and leads scientific activities and projects for developing better tools in EU environmental regulations (emission-, substances/mixtures and product-related legislations) for sustainable risk management of metals.

Partner in the spotlight: REGIONH

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

Partner in the spotlight: REGIONH

May 2, 2023

Bispebjerg Hospital at Region Hovedstaden (REGIONH) in Denmark is our next partner in the spotlight. It is a large community hospital with many different specialties, complex patient cases and a diverse patient group. Part of Copenhagen University Hospital, it serves a sizeable number of people in the Copenhagen area.

The Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine is the actual partner in EXIMIOUS. They are a clinical unit specialized in occupational and environmental medicine with a dedicated research unit conducting both clinical and epidemiological research in environmental and occupational medicine. The department contributes to the project with the established nationwide Danish register-database DOC*X and DOC*X Generation cohorts. Its main role in EXIMIOUS is to contribute to work on epidemiological population studies and in conducting statistics on databases while bringing new methods into exposome research and epidemiology. This is possible especially through close collaborations with the NRCWE, Biogenity and Aarhus University, and making use of advances in AI technology while also taking the time to understand the differences and advantages of new approaches compared to more traditional epidemiological methods.

The grounds of Bispebjerg Hospital at Region Hovedstaden in Denmark.

The REGIONH team is represented in EXIMIOUS by Camilla Sandal Sejbaek, Mette Møller Dornfeldt, and Esben Meulengracht Flachs, who have extensive knowledge of nationwide registers, of epidemiological and statistical methodologies, and a wide range of experience in exposure assessment.

To learn more about the work being done in EXIMIOUS and how the DOC*X and DOC*X Generation cohorts are being used to help understand occupational exposures, check out the article Understanding work exposures: where AI and epidemiological analyses meet in the first issue of our EXIMIOUS newsletter.

Third EXIMIOUS Newsletter out now – birds and bronchi inflammation

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

Third EXIMIOUS Newsletter out now – birds and bronchi inflammation

April 28, 2023

We have just released the third issue of our EXIMIOUS Newsletter, bringing you the latest project news and event updates. In this spring issue, we invite you to learn about invasive bird species in Barcelona, the workers who protect the city from bird pests, and what this job has to do with inflamed bronchi.

In an interview, EXIMIOUS researcher Dr. María-Jesús Cruz talks about a research visit by her colleagues from the Belgian Center for Occupational Hygiene to the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and the park workers from the Urban Pest Control and Surveillance Service in Barcelona, Spain. She also explains why Barcelona is so popular among various bird species, particularly among parrots. Why are parrots considered an invasive species, and what can be done about this?

Following this conversation, we zoom in on two closely-related EXIMIOUS cohorts: the occupational park workers cohort and the disease cohort consisting of people diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Learn from the researchers at VHIR why these groups are of particular interest to the EXIMIOUS project and to environmental health research in general. 

We hope you enjoy the read, and stay tuned to learn more about the disease cohorts in the next issue! If you want to make sure you do not miss anything, subscribe to receive the next newsletter straight in your mailbox.

From data management to exposure to crystalline silica: EXIMIOUS presents at the EPICOH and SOT 2023 conferences

Mapping Exposure-Induced Immune Effects: Connecting the Exposome and the Immunome

From data management to exposure to crystalline silica: EXIMIOUS presents at the EPICOH and SOT 2023 conferences

April 6, 2023

Dr. Manosij Ghosh from our team at KU Leuven and Dr. Evangel Kummari from NIPH had the opportunity to present some of EXIMIOUS’ most recent results at the 29th International Symposium on Epidemiology in Occupational Health EPICOH 2023 in Mumbai and the 2023 Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting in Nashville. Read on to learn about what they preented and how their respective conference experiences were.

One of the key milestones for EXIMIOUS was to set up a data management plan (DMP) that would enable the smooth, safe and efficient handling of data within the project while also making it as FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) as possible for other users. The EXIMIOUS project includes cohort studies involving teh collection and analysis of many data types, such as biological samples, biobank data, register-based cohort data among others. Thus, setting up a DMP and the related tools and infrastructure requires a substantial amount of work and collaboration between all partners. This resulted in one of EXIMIOUS’ first tools: the DMP-Check. While we look forward to making it publicly available soon, this was the core of Dr. Manosij Ghosh’s presentation at EPICOH 2023, titled ‘FAIR Data management in exposome research – a case study from the EU-funded EXIMIOUS project‘.

Our work was well-received and generated some discussion around FAIR data management- including questions of whether the EXIMIOUS experience could be translated to other projects, and if the data management framework, which is based on European regulation, could be implemented in a broader context.

Organised as a hybrid event on the 14-17th March, the EPICOH 2023 conference was attended by about 200 in person and more than 100 online participants. The EXIMIOUS work was presented in one of the 6 parallel session on ‘Occupational Epidemiologic methods’, which was attended by about 30 participants in person. “Our work was well-received and generated some discussion around FAIR data management- including questions of whether the EXIMIOUS experience could be translated to other projects, and if the data management framework, which is based on European regulation, could be implemented in a broader context.” says Manosij on reporting from his conference experience. “There was curiosity about scenarios which were the most challenging for EXIMIOUS”.

The EPICOH 2023 chairs and speakers for the 'Occupational Epidemiologic Methods'session. [Dr. Manosij Ghosh is the first from the right]

Just a few days later and on the other side of the globe, Dr. Evangel Kummari presented an exploratory analysis titled ‘Exposure Induced Immune Effects of Crystalline Silica Particles on Human Whole Blood using High Dimensional Immune Cell Profiling‘. The study focuses on changes in immune cell profile in human whole blood when exposed to crystalline silica. The findings of the study will help in understanding occupational high-level exposure of silica dust that has been shown to cause several lung diseases and systemic autoimmune diseases. This type of exposure is common especially for mine workers, which the EXIMIOUS project explores in more detail also through a dedicate cohort of workers who are exposed to mineral dust and organic solvents.

With more than 70 Featured and Scientific Sessions, more than 2,000 poster presentations and the three-day ToxExpo featuring 250 companies, the 2023 SOT Annual Meeting was a highly participated event that brought researchers and industry representatives from across the globe to gather in Nashville on the 19-23rd March. Having returned from the conference with a positively received poster presentation, Evangle says “The society of toxicology conference is the hotspot for toxicologists every year to gather, share and learn about the most happening research in toxicology. I have been attending SOT for a few years now and the knowledge I gained at this conference has helped shape my scientific research and career.”

The society of toxicology conference is the hotspot for toxicologists every year to gather, share and learn about the most happening research in toxicology. I have been attending SOT for a few years now and the knowledge I gained at this conference has helped shape my scientific research and career.

Dr. Evangel Kummari presenting her poster at the 2023 SOT Annual Meeting.

Providing an opportunity to the EXIMIOUS team to present very different results to a broad and equally diverse audience, these two conferences opened the season of presentations, with more to come in the next months.  To learn more about the results from our EXIMIOUS partners, subscribe to our newsletter!