The European Union (EU) has granted 8 million euros in funding from the Horizon Europe Programme to an international research project, NEMESIS, which aims to investigate the effect of exposure to chemicals present in the environment, food, and consumer products on the human endocrine system.
The NOVA National School of Public Health (NOVA NSPH) will lead the work package dedicated to risk assessment and communication, with the goal of providing information to support policies and regulations that aim to reduce the exposure of European citizens to these chemicals. The information will also be made available to citizens to promote changes in behavior and consumption habits. The team from NOVA NSPH, composed of Professors Susana Viegas, Cristina Godinho, and Sónia Dias, as well as Researchers Carla Martins and Ana Gama, has extensive experience in assessing risks associated with chemical exposure in different contexts, as well as in health promotion, health communication and behavior change.
In recent years, the growing concern about the harmful effects of chemicals present in various aspects of our personal and professional lives (e.g., food, cosmetics, detergents, kitchen utensils, food packaging, and many others) has accelerated research on this topic. In the case of chemicals acting as endocrine disruptors (ED) – substances external to the human body that interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, metabolism, or elimination of different hormones – the ability of some chemicals to have these effects has only recently been proven. Exposure has been associated, for example, with increased obesity, fatty liver, and insulin tolerance. The EU is interested in funding research on this topic so that citizens can be protected through the development of evidence-based policies.
Starting in January 2024, the NEMESIS project (Novel Effect biomarkers for MEtabolic disruptors: Evidence on health Impacts to science and policy NeedS) incorporates a diverse set of cutting-edge methodologies. The ability of chemicals to interfere with metabolism will be investigated through collaboration with various research groups located in different EU countries. The underlying mechanisms of health adverse effects will be investigated using in vitro and in vivo methods. Additionally, the goal is to increase the impact of research results by raising awareness among citizens about the harmful effects caused by exposure to these chemicals and how exposure to these harmful chemicals can be avoided in everyday life and consumer decisions.
The project brings together merited researchers from across Europe. The project coordination is led by the University of Eastern Finland. In addition to the NOVA NSPH, project partners also include the University of Oulu, University of Tampere, Karolinska Institutet, Hasselt University, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Université libre de Bruxelles, Umeå University, NovaMechanics, Spanish National Research Council, Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, and Foundation for Health and Biomedicine Research and Innovation of Asturias.