8th OHD TRAINING SCHOOL - Crash course in ecotoxicology: From concepts to practice

Description. This 3-day training school will introduce early-career researchers, Ph.D. students, and postdoctoral fellows to the fundamentals of ecotoxicology. Through a combination of lectures, interactive sessions featuring case studies, and hands-on laboratory work, participants will explore how chemicals affect organisms and the ecosystems they inhabit. The participants will gain an overview of the main classes of chemical pollutants, how these substances enter and move through the environment, the effects they can have on wildlife, and approaches to measuring and mitigating their impact. The program will also cover the principles of dose–response testing, experimental design, and data interpretation, and will include a practical session running a standard toxicity assay. Emphasis will be placed on linking laboratory findings to ecological relevance and environmental safety. The course is designed for participants with no prior background in ecotoxicology and is open to trainees from a wide range of disciplines.