Belgium
Board-certified toxicologist (DABT) and European Registered Toxicologist (ERT) with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and industry experience across medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products. I specialize in toxicological risk assessment, biocompatibility evaluation, and regulatory safety strategies supporting global product development and lifecycle management. Currently a Toxicologist and Biocompatibility Subject Matter Expert at Baxter Healthcare, I design biological evaluation strategies, conduct chemical characterization, perform toxicological risk assessments, and develop endpoint coverage approaches using weight-of-evidence, read-across, and (Q)SAR methodologies in alignment with ISO 10993, ICH, GLP, USP, and other regulatory frameworks. Previously at Procter & Gamble, I served as a Human Safety Toxicologist, leading exposure assessments, consumer safety evaluations, and toxicological risk assessments for innovative consumer products while supporting global R&D teams. With a foundation in international research, peer-reviewed science, and industry collaboration, I bring a strong scientific and regulatory perspective to toxicology challenges. I am motivated to leverage evidence-based toxicology and safety assessment strategies to enable innovation while ensuring the highest standards of human health protection.
- Senior Preclinical Safety leader providing strategic and technical oversight for pharmaceutical and medical device programs across global development and lifecycle management. - Define and drive biological evaluation, toxicological risk assessment, and preclinical safety strategies, including chemical characterization, endpoint coverage, advanced weight‑of‑evidence approaches, read‑across, and (Q)SAR modeling. - Lead Nitrosamine Toxicological Risk Assessments, establishing acceptable intake limits, supporting risk mitigation strategies, and advising cross‑functional teams on regulatory expectations. - Provide expert governance of outsourced preclinical safety and toxicology studies, ensuring scientific rigor, GLP compliance, and alignment with international regulatory standards (ISO 10993, USP, ICH, 21 CFR Part 58). - Guide scientific teams, influence senior stakeholders, and provide program‑level leadership across multiple projects, functions, and regions.
- Preclinical Safety leader providing strategic and technical oversight for pharmaceutical and medical device programs across global development and lifecycle management. - Define and drive biological evaluation, toxicological risk assessment, and preclinical safety strategies, including chemical characterization, endpoint coverage, advanced weight‑of‑evidence approaches, read‑across, and (Q)SAR modeling. - Lead Nitrosamine Toxicological Risk Assessments, establishing acceptable intake limits, supporting risk mitigation strategies, and advising cross‑functional teams on regulatory expectations. - Provide expert governance of outsourced preclinical safety and toxicology studies, ensuring scientific rigor, GLP compliance, and alignment with international regulatory standards (ISO 10993, USP, ICH, 21 CFR Part 58). - Guide scientific teams, influence senior stakeholders, and provide program‑level leadership across multiple projects, functions, and regions.
- Preclinical Safety Subject Matter Expert for pharmaceutical products and medical devices, supporting global development and lifecycle activities. - Lead biological evaluation and toxicological risk assessment strategies, including chemical characterization, endpoint coverage (testing, weight of evidence, read‑across, (Q)SAR), and risk justification. - Design, monitor, and interpret outsourced preclinical safety and toxicology studies in compliance with GLP requirements. - Ensure alignment with applicable regulatory and scientific standards (ISO 10993, USP, ICH, 21 CFR Part 58, regional pharmacopoeias). - Provide scientific and project leadership through cross‑functional collaboration, supporting multiple programs and regions.
- Serve as the global toxicology and human safety lead for consumer products within the various portfolios, acting as the primary expert point of contact. - Provide project and scientific leadership across multiple programs and regions, authoring toxicological risk assessments and guiding safety strategy from early development through market support. - Design, oversee, and interpret in‑house and outsourced safety studies, ensuring robust data generation aligned with regulatory and business needs. - Enable portfolio growth and innovation by supporting novel chemistries and consumer‑centric initiatives, proactively guiding upstream teams to mitigate future safety and regulatory risks. - Drive regulatory and competitive advantage by challenging legacy classifications and formulations, leading CLP dossier updates, addressing data gaps, and conducting forward‑looking research on emerging risks (e.g., acrylate sensitization, REACH trends).
- Accelerated the development of liver-on-chip and multi-organ-chips through cutting-edge research in collaboration with international academic and commercial partners. - Refined the diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) and Neuro-endocrine tumors (NET) through combination of liver cell- and immune cell- derived secretory products in novel diagnostic algorithms. - Researched the potential therapeutic properties of novel natural compounds, which obtain their effect through immune cell modulation, via diverse in vitro and in vivo liver disease models. - Investigated the diagnostic opportunities and underlying functional mechanisms of circulating liver-derived miRNAs. - Engaged mentorship and coaching of new recruits and junior team members. - Authored 12 peer-reviewed publications.
- Unraveled miRNA and protein expression patterns during early liver fibrosis progression and linked this to changing expression levels in the circulation of early-stage patients, thereby introducing a non-invasive, cheap, and safe method for screening of at-risk individuals, which gained significant clinical and commercial attention. - Initiated and supervised clinical trials, which evaluated our newly discovered diagnostic markers and algorithms. - Optimized in vitro and in vivo models mimicking human liver fibrosis pathogenesis. - Researched the functional, diagnostic, and therapeutic properties of liver cell derived, and circulating, extracellular vesicles during the process of liver disease. - Engaged mentorship and coaching of new recruits and junior team members - Taught the practical course “Physiology of the cell and the organs” for students 2nd Bachelor Biomedical Sciences and 2nd Bachelor Pharmaceutical Sciences. - Authored 6 peer-reviewed publications and 1 patent.
Thesis: The role of microRNAs in hepatic stellate cell activation and liver fibrosis