Sciensano
Birgit Mertens is the Head of Service Risk and Health Impact Assessment at Sciensano since June 2010. As a Toxicologist, she specializes in researching the (geno)toxic potential of food-related compounds, particularly focusing on food contaminants. She also serves as the National Coordinator of the OECD Test Guidelines Programme and the European Test Methods Regulation. Prior to her current role, she was a PhD student at Vrije Universiteit Brussel from October 2005 to May 2010, working on research for neuroprotective drugs with neurotrophic features for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Birgit Mertens completed her education at Vrije Universiteit Brussel from 2000 to 2005 and VKO Opwijk from 1998 to 2000.
Sciensano
SCIENSANO can count on more than 900 staff members who commit themselves, day after day, to contributing to public health. As our name suggests, science and health are central to our mission. Sciensano’s strength and uniqueness lie within the holistic and multidisciplinary approach to health. More particularly we focus on the close and indissoluble interconnection between human and animal health and their environment (the “One health” concept). By combining different research perspectives within this framework, Sciensano connects health, science and society. For this, Sciensano builds on the more than 100 years of scientific expertise of the former Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre (CODA-CERVA) and the ex-Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP).