Molecular Toxicology Group Leader

Tamara Tal leads the Mechanistic Toxicology Group in the Chemicals in the Environment Research Section (CITE) at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ. She also holds a Professorship in Integrated Systems Toxicology in the Medical Faculty at University Leipzig. Prior to joining the UFZ in 2019, Tamara was a Principal Investigator at the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Research and Development. Tamara completed postdoctoral fellowships in the labs of Dr. Robyn Tanguay (Oregon State University) and Dr. Stephanie Padilla (EPA) and earned a doctorate in toxicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the mentorship of Dr. James Samet. The Molecular Toxicology research group uses the zebrafish model to develop New Approach Methods, including for Developmental Neurotoxicity and Adult Neurotoxicity. Her team also deploys gene-editing to demonstrate causality between chemical exposure, molecular targets, and adverse outcomes.