The Mechanistic and Applied Toxicology group investigates how chemicals affect biological systems and how these effects can be understood, organized, and used in chemical safety assessment. Our work combines molecular and cell biology, omics technologies, computational toxicology, data science, and evidence integration to study toxicity across biological levels.
A central focus of the group is the development and application of adverse outcome pathways — structured biological models that connect early molecular effects of chemicals to adverse health outcomes. We use these frameworks to integrate diverse types of evidence, including mechanistic literature, omics data, experimental results, and computational predictions, with the aim of supporting a transition towards scientifically grounded, human-relevant, and animal-free testing strategies.
Our current research includes mechanistic work on endocrine-disrupting chemicals and endometriosis, as well as broader efforts to adapt toxicology and chemical safety assessment to new approach methodologies, systems biology, and computational evidence.
Alexandra Schaffert, PhD – Group Lead/PI
Alexandra Schaffert leads the Mechanistic and Applied Toxicology group at Tampere University, where she develops animal-free, omics-driven approaches to chemical safety. Her work advances the Adverse Outcome Pathway framework and builds the mechanistic links between human and environmental health — first for cardiotoxicity and metabolic disruption during her time in Innsbruck and Leipzig, and now across a broader landscape of chemical assessment. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Leipzig University, co-leads international efforts to integrate omics data into the AOP framework and contributes to OECD work on chemical safety and hazard assessment. Her research in Tampere is supported by a Tampere Institute for Advanced Study Fellowship.