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Professor Charles R. Tyler, winner of SETAC’s Founders Award 2015 for his outstanding career in the environmental sciences.

Professor Charles Tyler wins prestigious SETAC Award

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) has awarded Professor Charles R. Tyler, Deputy Head, and former Director of Research, for Biosciences at the University of Exeter’s Streatham campus, with this year’s Founders Award in recognition of his outstanding career and influence in the field of environmental toxicology.

The award will be announced at the SETAC Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, US, on 1 November 2015. This award recognises the influence of Professor Tyler’s research into endocrine disrupting chemicals and his communication of these important issues to the general public through high profile media outlets.

Professor Tyler’s highly cited research, innovation and stringent scientific standards have led to funded partnerships with AstraZeneca, Syngenta, BASF, and several water companies. He works closely with government bodies, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), the UK Environment Agency and the Ministry for the Environment in Japan which has helped ensure the incorporation of the latest scientific findings into policy making decisions.

A major focus of Tyler’s research has been on the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals and their feminisation effects in fish - from molecular effect mechanisms to population level impacts in wild populations. The research of his many PhD students and postdoctoral researchers however is more wide ranging and includes the ecotoxicology of pharmaceuticals, nanoparticles and pesticides, disease mechanisms in aquaculture, fish behaviour and welfare, and the natural history of ground nesting birds.

Professor Tyler said: “I am truly delighted and honoured to receive this award from SETAC. It recognises a long term dedication to research aimed at understanding the health impacts of chemical exposure and the drive to better protect the natural environment, my passion. It is a celebration of the work of many PhDs, post docs and some great collaborators to whom I am truly grateful.”

Professor Tyler has dedicated his award to Professor Louis Guillette, a close friend, whom he described as “A world leading environmental scientist, mentor, and kindred spirit”, who sadly died this year.

Article written by Aoife Parsons, Biosciences Press Gang

Date: 2 November 2015

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