Congratulations to Victor on his PhD defence

Victor defends PhD on PFASs

We are delighted to announce that Victor Amstutz has successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “From the Liver to the Immune System: New Insights on the Structure-Activity Relationship of PFASs. An In Vitro Toxicological Approach,” under the supervision of Prof. Dick Sijm and Dr. Misha Vrolijk.

This thesis advances our understanding of how structural differences among PFASs — including sulfonic (PFSAs), carboxylic (PFCAs), and alcoholic (FTOHs) headgroups — influence their effects on the liver and innate immune system.

Using a novel in vitro relative potency factor approach, Victor demonstrated a clear structure-activity relationship and revealed that FTOHs are significantly more toxic to the immune system than other PFASs. These findings provide valuable insight into the mechanisms of PFAS-induced hepatotoxicity and immunotoxicity, and emphasize the importance of assessing headgroup effects in future research.

This work highlights the importance of assessing headgroup effects in future PFAS research to better identify high-risk compounds and improve chemical safety evaluation strategies.

The full thesis is available for download here, and the recording of the defense can be rewatched here.

Congratulations Victor!