Forschungsverbund Berlin (IGB)

IGB is one of the eight institutes legally represented by Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB) and thus a part of FVB. IGB is a creative, lively and diverse place for conducting research and teaching. Scientists from a whole range of disciplines work under one roof. Hydrologists, chemists, physicists, microbiologists, limnologists, fish ecologists, ecotoxicologists and fisheries biologists from all over the world investigate the fundamental processes governing rivers, lakes and wetlands, and join forces to develop measures conductive to sustainable water management by taking an integrative research approach. We pool our discipline-based research in six research departments. Added to this are three cross-cutting research domains in which we address topics of high scientific and/or societal relevance. IGB is Germany’s largest research centre for freshwaters.  IGB – Department of Ecophysiology and Inland Fisheries – Ecotoxicology group; The Department of Ecophysiology and Aquaculture focuses to investigate the ecophysiological impacts of multiple environmental factors on aquatic vertebrates, in particular fishes and amphibians. The goal is to create the scientific foundations for sustainable aquaculture and to shed light on how biotic and abiotic factors including endocrine disruptors influence on the various physiological functions of individual vertebrates with regard to reproduction, stress, development, growth and behaviour. The ecotoxicology group is an internationally recognized research group in endocrine disruption of amphibians with more than 20 years of experience in assessment of modes of action of endocrine disruptors using amphibians as model but also markedly involved in the development and validation of the OECD TG 231. The group is experienced in development of highly sensitive biomarkers and endpoints for endocrine disruption in both, amphibians and fishes, by using in vivo and in vitro approaches and collaborates with research groups, contract laboratories and business organizations worldwide. The group is equipped with state-of-the-art flow-through exposure system, chemical, biochemical and molecular biological labs to assess endocrine effects in vivo and in vitro.

Werner has been a researcher in animal physiology and comparative endocrinology since 1986. He has developed scientific foundations to develop and establish amphibians as model species to study endocrine disruptors affecting reproduction and the thyroid system since 1996. His main focus since 2000 has been to establish the OECD TG 231 to detect endocrine disrupting chemicals affecting the thyroid system. He was invited and contributed to the SETAC Pellston workshop on Ecotoxicological Hazard and Risk Assessment Approaches for Endocrine-Active Substances in 2016. He has been awarded by the Schoeller-Junkmann prize (experimental endocrinology) in 1991 and by the German Sustainability Prize (basic research for aquaponics) in 2012. He received over 35 research grants as PI or co-PI and supervised more than 20 PhD students and more than 40 Bachelor and Master students. Werner will mainly participate in WP5 being responsible for conduction of in vivo and in vitro exposures with amphibians.