Fabian C. Fischer, Ph.D.

  • Assistant Professor
  • Office: 495Q Lab: 450
  • Phone: 401.874.5443
  • Email: fabian.fischer@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Avedisian Hall, 7 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI 02881

Research

Dr. Fischer’s research focuses on understanding the fate of chemicals in and between organisms and their surrounding environment, aiming to reveal the mechanisms underlying absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of pharmaceuticals and environmental contaminants. Dr. Fischer’s group develops toxicokinetic (TK) and pharmacokinetic (PK) models, parameterized by in vitro cell-based and microextraction binding assays. The developed models will link chemical exposures to pharmacological and toxicological data, with the ultimate goal of improving the bioavailability of pharmaceuticals and assessing the adverse human and ecosystem health effects of environmental contaminants.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard University, USA, 2022-2023
Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan, 2019-2022
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), Germany, 2018-2019
Ph.D. Environmental Toxicity and Chemistry,  University of Tübingen, Germany, 2015-2018
M.Sc. Environmental Sciences, University of Giessen, Germany, 2013-2015
B.Sc. Environmental Sciences, University of Bielefeld, Germany, 2009-2013

Selected Publications

Fischer F. C., Böhm L., Höss S., Möhlenkamp C., Claus E., Düring R.-A., Schäfer S. (2016). “Passive dosing in chronic toxicity tests with the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans”. Environmental Science & Technology 50, 9708-9716.

Fischer F. C., Henneberger L., König M., Bittermann K., Linden L., Goss K.-U. Escher B. I. (2017). “Modeling exposure in the Tox21 in vitro bioassays”. Chemical Research in Toxicology 30 (5), 1197-1208.

Fischer F. C., Cirpka O. A., Goss K. U., Henneberger L., Escher B. I. (2018). “Application of experimental polystyrene partition constants and diffusion coefficients to predict the sorption of neutral organic chemicals to multiwell plates in in vivo and in vitro bioassays”. Environmental Science & Technology 52, 13511-13522.

Fischer F. C., Henneberger L., Schlichting R., Escher B. I. (2019). “How to improve the dosing of chemicals in high-throughput in vitro mammalian cell assays”. Chemical Research in Toxicology 32 (8), 1462-1468.

Escher B. I., Henneberger L., König M., Schlichting R., Fischer F. C. (2020). “Cytotoxicity burst? Differentiating specific from nonspecific effects in Tox21 in vitro reporter gene assays”. Environmental Health Perspectives 128(7).

Fischer F. C., Abele C., Henneberger L., Klüver N., König M., Mühlenbrink M., Schlichting R., Escher B. I. (2020). “Cellular metabolism in high-throughput in vitro reporter gene assays and implications for the quantitative in vitroin vivo extrapolation”. Chemical Research in Toxicology 33 (7), 1770–1779.

Fischer F. C., Hiki K., Soetaert K., Endo S. (2021). “Mind the exposure gaps – Modeling chemical transport in sediment toxicity tests”. Environmental Science & Technology 55(17), 11885–11893.

Fischer F. C., Hiki K., Endo S. (2022). “Free vs. bound concentration: Passive dosing from polymer meshes elucidates drivers of toxicity in aquatic tests with benthic invertebrates”. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Fischer F. C., Baumert B. O., Nielsen F., Grandjean P., Bartell S., Eckel S.P., Valvi D., Inge T., Jenkins T., Ryder J., Kohli R., Sisley S., Xanthakos S., Stratakis N, Rock S., Merrill M., Walker D.I., McConnel R., Conti D., Chatzi L. (2023). “Paired Liver:Plasma PFAS Concentration Ratios from Adolescents in the Teen-LABS Study and Derivation of Empirical and Mass Balance Models to Predict and Explain Liver PFAS Accumulation”. Environmental Science & Technology.