Dr. rer. nat. Sebastian Heger

„Green Toxicology for Prediction of Biohybrid Fuel Mixtures“ (part of the DFG cluster-of-excellence "The Fuel Science Center - Adaptive Conversion Systems for Renewable Energy and Carbon Sources ")

Room: 105
Phone: +49 (0) 241 / 80 – 26698
(ESA) Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University Kackertstraße 10 52072 Aachen Deutschland

Curriculum vitae

since 06/2020  Responsible person for animal welfare at the Institute of Environmental Research according to Tierschutzgesetz §11 

since 01/2020  Safety representative at the Institute of Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University

since 09/2019  Co-PI of the Project ‘GreenToxiConomy’ (funde by the Bioeconomy Science Center)

since 01/2019  Group leader „Green Toxicology“ at the Institute of Environmental Research

since 01/2019  PI of the subproject “Green Toxicology for the Prediction of Fuel Mixtures” at the DFG Cluster-of-Excellence “The Fuel Science Center” (EXC 2186)

11/2013-08/2018 Doctoral thesis in Biology at the Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

PhD Thesis: Green Toxicology and Biofuels – Ecotoxicological Tools for Sustainable Biofuel Development

10/2015 – 12/2018 Team leader at the Department of Ecosystem Analyses, Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, (Prof. Dr. Henner Hollert)

10/2015 – 12/2018 Co-PI of the subproject ‘Ecotoxicological investigations of biofuels as a basis for computational model based prediction of relative ecotoxicological potencies’ at the DFG Cluster-of-Excellence “Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass” (EXC 236)

since 11/2012 Coordinator Students Lab “Fascinating Environment”

since 11/2012  Research assistant, Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University

06/2010-08/2010  Research internship at the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, NY, USA

10/2009-08/2012  Studies of Biology, then Ecotoxicology (M.Sc.) at RWTH Aachen University, Germany

M.Sc. Thesis: In vitro testing of biofuels – Cytotoxicity, EROD activity and genotoxicity of potential biofuels in comparison with fossil fuels

05/2008 – 10/2012  Student assistant at the Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research (Bio5), RWTH Aachen University 

10/2006 – 09/2009  Studies of Biology (B.Sc.) at RWTH Aachen University, Germany; Specialisation: Environmental Science

B.Sc. Thesis: Assessing the ecotoxicological effects of bioenergy extraction processes

 

Other activities

05/2012  Student Volunteer, SETAC Europe 22nd Annual Meeting/ 6th SETAC World Congress in Berlin, Germany

02/2011  Local Organisation Comitee (LOC): Young Environmental Scientist (YES) Meeting 2011 in Aachen

Since 2008  Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)

Publications

Journal publications

  • Brendt, J., Lackmann, C., Heger, S., Velki, M., Crawford, S.E., Xiao, H., Thalmann, B., Schiwy, A., Hollert, H., (2021) Using a high-throughput method in the micronucleus assay to compare animal-free with rat-derived S9. Science of the The Total Environment 751:142269
  • Heger, S., Brendt, J., Hollert, H., Roß-Nickoll, M., Du, M., (2020) Green toxicological investigation for biofuel candidates. 142902
  • Bluhm, K. & Heger, S., Redelstein, R., Brendt, J., Anders, N., Mayer, P., Schäffer, A., Hollert, H., (2018). Genotoxicity of three biofuel candidates compared to reference fuels. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 64:131-138.
  • Heger, S., Bluhm, K., Du, M., Lehmann, G., Anders, N., Dechambre, D., Bardow, A., Schäffer, A., Hollert, H. (2018) Aquatic toxicity of biofuel candidates on Daphnia magna. Ecotoxicology and Environmental safety 164:125-130.
  • Heger, S. & Du, M., Schäffer, A., Hollert, H., (2018) Comparative ecotoxicity of potential biofuels to Daphnia magna, Danio rerio and Chinese Hamster V79 Cells. Science of The Total Environment 631:216-222. (shared first co-authorship)
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Brendt J, Mayer P., Anders N., Schäffer A., Seiler T.-B., Hollert H. (2016) Microscale in vitro assays for the investigation of neutral red retention and ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase of biofuels and fossil fuels. PLoS ONE 11:e0163862.
  • Gustavsson L. K., Heger S., Ejlertsson J., Ribé V., Hollert H., Keiter S. H. (2014) Industrial sludge containing pharmaceutical residues and explosives alters inherent toxic properties when co-digested with oat and post-treated in reed beds. Environmental Sciences Europe Vol. 26, pp. 1-11.
  • Emelogu E. S., Seiler T.-B., Heger S., Pollard P., Robinson C. D., Webster L., McKenzie C., Hollert H., Bresnan E., Napier F., Moffat C. F. (2014) Evaluations of combined embryo and algal toxicity of dissolved organic contaminants in the Ythan catchment using zebrafish (Danio rerio) and marine phytoplankton (Diacronema lutheri). Environmental Science and Pollution Research Vol. 21, pp. 5537-5546.
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Agler M. T., Maletz S., Schäffer A., Seiler T. B., Angenent L. T., Hollert H. (2012). Biotests for hazard assessment of biofuel fermentation. Energy and Environmental Science, Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 9778-9788.
  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Seiler T. B., Hallare A. V., Schäffer A., Hollert H. (2012). Toxicological and ecotoxicological potencies of biofuels used for the transport sector – a literature review. Energy and Environmental Science, Vol. 5, No. 6, pp.7381-7392.
  • Richter H., Qureshi N., Heger S., Dien B., Cotta M. A. and Angenent L. T. (2012). Prolonged conversion of n-butyrate to n-butanol with Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum in a two-stage continuous culture with in-situ product removal. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol. 109, No. 4, pp. 913-921.

Bookchapter

  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Agler M.T., Maletz S., Schäffer A., Seiler T.-B., Angenent L.T., & Hollert H. (2012): The Assessment of the Ecotoxicological & Environmental Effects of Biorefinery (Chapter 15, pp. 435-467). In: The Role of Green Chemistry in Biomass Processing and Conversion. Eds.: Xie H. and Gathergood N., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ, USA.
     

Platform presentation

  • Heger S., Du M., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2017). Green Toxicology for Green Biofuels –
    integrating bioassays in the development of novel fuels. April 5, School of Environment, Normal University Beijing, China & April 13, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Du M., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2016). Green Toxicology for green Biofuels – Integrating bioassays in the development of novel fuels. 4th TMFB International Conference, June 21-23, 2016, Aachen, Germany
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2013). Ecotoxicological biotests for potential biofuels. 18th Annual Meeting SETAC German Language Branch Annual Meeting, October 23-26, 2013, Essen, Germany
  • Emelogu E. S., Heger S., Pollard P., Robinson C. D., Webster L., McKenzie C., Seiler T.-B., Hollert H., Moffat C. F., (2013). Using passive dosing to assess the cytotoxicity and cytochrome induction potentials of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on fish cell line. SETAC Europe 23rd Annual Meeting, May 12-16, 2013, Glasgow, Scotland
  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Lörks J., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2013). Potential biofuels in an ecotoxicological investigation. 3rd Young Environmental Scientists Meeting, February 11-13, 2013, Kraków, Poland
  • Emelogu E. S., Heger S., Pollard P., Robinson C. D., Webster L., Napier F., McKenzie C., Seiler T.-B., Hollert H., Moffat C., (2012). Linking complex mixtures of organic contaminants to biological responses via passive sampling and embryonic zebrafish assays. 5th International Passive Sampling Workshop, September 11-12, 2012, Columbia, Missouri, USA
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Lörks J., Seiler T. B., Schäffer A., Hollert H. (2012). Three Potential Biofuels in an Ecotoxicological Investigation. 5th TMFB International Workshop, June 13-14, 2012, Aachen, Germany.
  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Lörks J., Seiler T. B., Schäffer A., Hollert H. (2011). Two Potential Biofuels in an Ecotoxicological Investigation. 32nd Annual Meeting SETAC North America, November 13-17, 2011, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Brinkmann M., Winkens K., Schneider A., Maletz S., Agler M.T., Seiler T.B., Angenent L.T., Hollert H., (2011) What’s up inside the reactor – Biotests for risk assessment of biofuel fermentation. 32th Annual Meeting SETAC North America, November 13-17, 2011, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Angenent L.T., Agler M.T., Werner J.J., Heger S., Hollert H., Dien B.S., Iten L.B., Cotta M.A., (2011). The Effect of Different Lignocellulosic Pretreatment Methods on Diverse Microbial Consortiums in a Bioprocess Step to Generate Fuel Precursors. 32th Annual Meeting SETAC North America, November 13-17, 2011, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Brinkmann M., Winkens K., Schneider A., Maletz S., Wölz J., Agler M.T., Seiler T.B., Angenent L.T., Hollert H., (2011). What’s up inside the reactor – Biotests for Risk Assessment of biofuel fermentation. 2nd Young Environmental Scientists Meeting, 28th February – 2nd March, 2011, Aachen, Germany
  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Lörks J., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2011). Ecotoxicological Investigations of potential biofuels. 2nd Young Environmental Scientists Meeting, 28th February – 2nd March, 2011, Aachen, Germany
  • Heger S., Winkens K., Schneider A., Wollenweber M., Brinkmann M., Maletz S., Wölz J., Bluhm K., Agler M.T., Seiler T.B., Angenent L.T., Hollert H., (2009). Assessing the ecotoxicological effects of bioenergy extraction processes. 30th Annual Meeting SETAC North America, November 19-23, 2009, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Poster presentations 

  • Heger S., Du M., Esser M., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2018). Aquatic toxicity of biofuel mixtures. 6th TMFB International Conference, June 19-21, 2018, Aachen, Germany.
  • Du M., Heger S., Hollert H., (2018) The effects of bio-hybrid fuels on human health. 6th TMFB International Conference, June 19-21, 2018, Aachen, Germany.
  • Esser M., Heger S., Du M., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2018) Ecotoxicity of biofuel-mixture DnBE and 1-Octanol on aquatic organisms Danio rerio and Daphnia magna. SETAC Europe 28th Annual Meeting, May 13-18, 2018, Rome, Italy
  • Hollert H., Heger S., Du M., Schäffer A., (2018). 1-Octanol and 2-Butanone as biofuel candidates – Using “Green Toxicolgoy” for abiofuel development. SETAC Europe 28th Annual Meeting, May 13-18, 2018, Rome, Italy
  • Heger S. & Du M., Bluhm K., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2017). Green Toxicology for green Biofuels – Integrating bioassays in the development of novel fuels. 5th TMFB International Conference, June 20-22, 2017, Aachen, Germany.
  • Heger S. & Du M., Bluhm K., Lehmann G., Anders N., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2017). Aquatic toxicity of biofuels – acute toxicity, developmental toxicity and reproductive toxicity of four potential biofuels. SETAC Europe 27th Annual Meeting, May 7-11, 2017, Brussels, Belgium
  • Brendt J., Heger S., Anders N., Klankermayer J., Schäffer A., Hollert H., Seiler T.-B., (2016) Biokraftstoffe und ihre aquatische Toxizität – Bewertung des Biokraftstoffkandidaten 3-Methyltetrahydrofuran. Joint Annual Meeting of SETAC-GLB and GDCh, September 5-8, 2016, Tübingen, Germany
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Gergs A., Anders N., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2016). Aquatic toxicity of biofuels – Using ecotoxicological methods for sustainable biofuel development. 4th TMFB International Conference, June 21-23, 2016, Aachen, Germany.
  • Brendt J., Heger S., Bluhm K., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2016). Biofuels and their aquatic toxicity – Biotesting 3-methyltetrahydrofuran. SETAC Europe 26th Annual Meeting, May 22-267, 2016, Nantes, France
  • DiPaolo C., Senn L., Müller Y., Tallmann B., Heger S., Hollert H., Seiler T.-B., (2015) Genotoxicity biotesting strategy integrating cell-based and zebrafish embryo bioassays. 20th Annual Meeting SETAC German Language Branch Annual Meeting, September 7-10, 2015, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Gergs A., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2015). Green Toxicology integrated into biofuel development. 3rd TMFB International Conference, June 23-25, 2015, Aachen, Germany.
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Gregs A., Anders N., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2015). Aquatic toxicity of biofuels – Using ecotoxicological methods for sustainable biofuel development. SETAC Europe 25th Annual Meeting, May 3-7, 2015, Barcelona, Spain
  • Lehmann G., Heger S., Bluhm K., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2015). 2-Methylfuran: Investigating a Potential Biofuel in Bioassays using Daphnia Magna. 4th Young Environmental Scientists Meeting, March 14-19, 2015, Petnica, Serbia
  • Lehmann G., Heger S., Bluhm K., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2014).2-Methylfuran: Untersuchung eines potentiellen Biokraftstoffes in Biotests mit Daphnia magna. 6th Joint Meeting of SETAC-GLB and GDCh, September 7-10, 2014, Gießen/Homburg (Ohm), Germany
  • Heger S., Gembé C., Schür C., Bohrmann J., Kübel W., Seiler T.-B., Zielke H., Hollert H., (2013). The Students Lab “Fascinating Environment” – State-of-the-art science and its communication to the public. SETAC Europe 23rd Annual Meeting, May 12-16, 2013, Glasgow, Scotland
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Hollert H., (2013). In vitro testing of biofuels – Ecotoxicity tests for alternative fuels. SETAC Europe 23rd Annual Meeting, May 12-16, 2013, Glasgow, Scotland
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Seiler T. B., Schäffer A., Hollert H. (2012). In vitro testing of biofuels – Verifying the environmental friendliness of biofuels in comparison with fossil fuels. SETAC Europe 22nd Annual Meeting/ 6h SETAC World Congress, May 20-24, 2012, Berlin, Germany.
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Brinkmann M., Winkens K., Schneider A., Wollenweber M., Maletz S., Wölz J., Agler M. T., Seiler T. B., Angenent L. T. Hollert H. (2011). What’s up inside the reactor – Biotests for risk assessment of biofuel fermentation. 21th Annual Meeting SETAC Europe, May 15-19, 2011, Milan, Italy.
  • Heger S., Bluhm K., Brinkmann M., Winkens K., Schneider A., Wollenweber M., Maletz S., Wölz J., Agler M. T., Seiler T. B., Angenent L. T., Hollert H. (2010). What’s up inside the reactor – Biotests for risk assessment of biofuel fermentation. 20th Annual Meeting SETAC Europe, May 23-27, 2010, Seville, Spain.
  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Ernst M., Hallare A., Seiler T.-B., Schäffer A., Holert H., (2010) Biofuels in an Ecotoxicological Context: A Literature Review. 4th Joint Meeting of SETAC-GLB and GDCh, September 6-9, 2010, Dessau-Roßlau, Germany
  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Ernst M., Wölz J., Schäffer, A., Seiler T.B., Hollert H., (2009) Biofuels and their ecotoxicological relevance – a literature review. 30th Annual Meeting SETAC North America, November 19-23, 2009, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • Heger S., Winkens K., Schneider A., Brinkmann M., Wollenweber M., Maletz S., Wölz J., Agler M.T., Angenent L.T., Seiler T.B., Hollert H., (2009). Assessing the ecotoxicological effects of bioenergy extraction processes. 14th Annual Meeting SETAC German Language Branch Annual Meeting, October 5-7, 2009, Weihenstephan, Germany
  • Bluhm K., Heger S., Ernst M., Seiler T.B., Wölz J., Schäffer A., Hollert H. (2009). Ökotoxikologische Bewertung von Biokraftstoffen - ein Überblick über bisherige Forschungsarbeiten weltweit. 14th Annual Meeting SETAC German Language Branch, October 5-7, 2009, Weihenstephan, Germany
  • Heger S., Winkens K., Schneider A., Brinkmann M., Maletz S., Wölz J., Agler M.T., Angenent L.T., Seiler T.B., Hollert H., (2009). Assessing the ecotoxicological effects of bioenergy extraction processes. 19th Annual Meeting SETAC Europe, 31st May – 4th June, 2009, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Ernst M., Gerstner A., Heger S., Rnkovic S., Perovic A., Strecker R., Erdinger L., Wölz J., Braunbeck T., Hollert H., Seiler T.B., (2008). Assessing the sediment quality of Lake Shkodra. 3rd Joint Meeting of SETAC-GLB and GDCh, September 23-26, 2008, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
  • Schneider A. J., Brinkmann M., Gerstner A., Wölz J., Heger S., Weber R., Bogdal C., Seiler T.-B., Engwall M., Hollert H., (2008). Eine kombinierte bioanalytische und chemische Untersuchungsstrategie zum Nachweis von Dioxinen und Dioxin-ähnlichen Verbindungen in Böden aus ehemaligen Fabriken der Chloralkali-Elektrolyse und Leblanc Soda-Produktion. 3rd Joint Meeting of SETAC-GLB and GDCh, September 23-26, 2008, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
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