Thesis supervisor: Károly Nagy
Location of studies (in Hungarian): Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary Abbreviation of location of studies: DENJI
Description of the research topic:
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, with 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths in 2022. Globally, roughly 19% of all cancers are attributable to environmental and occupational chemical exposures, resulting in more than 1.5 million deaths each year. According to estimations, workplace carcinogens are accounted for approximately 2% to 8% of the global cancer mortality.
Meanwhile the amounts and kinds of chemicals in use are rapidly increasing, the knowledge on their hazardous properties is not in line with this development. There is still a large gap between the information we have and the information we need to control chemicals in order to protect human health. Investigation of the, among others, genotoxic features of certain substances is particularly important because induced DNA damage is closely associated with carcinogenesis so related information is necessary for the establishment of scientific basis for the assessment of cancer risk to humans.
The widespread production and use of biocidal substances underpin the importance of understanding the potential health risk of human exposure to these agents because some of them can attack cellular macromolecules, such as DNA. Other biocide compounds, such as pesticides, do not necessarily exert their effect through direct molecular damage; even though their genotoxic feature cannot be ruled out.
The knowledge of genotoxic effects of frequently used chemicals and molecular mechanisms responsible for DNA damage can aid in the design of efficient strategies that will prevent such damage from accumulating into mutations. A wide range of assays are presently used for the detection of direct genotoxic effects.
In our institution, the comet assay and the micronucleus test are routinely used to detect the genotoxic potential of certain environmentally and/or occupationally occurring chemicals.
Required language skills: intermediate English Recommended language skills (in Hungarian): proficiency English Further requirements: experience in conducting laboratory experiments
Number of students who can be accepted: 1
Deadline for application: 2024-05-15
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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