Anke Freeman, DiplomBiol, PhD

Assistant Professor of Physiology and Toxicology

Anke is an ecotoxicologist with a passion for conservation of freshwater and marine species and ecosystems, and the aim to introduce environmental and pollutants toxicology into the RUSVM One Health approach to teaching and research. Originally from Berlin, Germany, Anke studied Biology with focus on physiology, toxicology, aquatics and ecology at the Free University of Berlin, the University of Swansea in Wales, and the University of Coimbra, Portugal. She completed her PhD in Scotland, studying the effects of pesticides on freshwater and marine invertebrate communities including mollusks and crustaceans. Following her PhD, Anke gained a 4-year Royal Society of London Postdoctoral Fellowship, allowing her to continue her research on pesticide toxicology in marine invertebrates in Japan and Scotland. Since then, Anke has travelled through Europa and Asia with her husband Mark Freeman and their two children, holding various teaching, research and administrative positions in Malaysia and Scotland, before joining RUSVM in 2017, first on a locum basis, and in 2018 as an Assistant Professor.

Education

Diplom of Biology (MSc equivalent), Free University of Berlin, Germany, and Universidade the Coimbra, Portugal
PhD Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Scotland

Courses taught/teaching

VPRP 907: Cellular Biology and Homeostasis (course coordinator)
VPRP 909: Structure and Functional Biology
VPP 5123: Physiology 1
VPP 5223: Physiology 2
VPP 5588: Toxicology
Online course BIOS380: Introduction to Biochemistry

Research

My main research interests are pollutant effects at the organismal, cellular and ecosystem level. I am particularly curious about the effects of low, environmentally realistic concentrations of pollutants and effects of mixtures. Study species include freshwater and marine species, including crustaceans, gastropod mollusks and fish, and I am also concerned with other invertebrates such as echinoderms and corals, and their physiological and behavioural responses and adaptations to chemical pollutants. Past research has focused particularly on pesticides, metals and anti-fouling compounds, but I am interested in a variety of relevant chemical compounds in the marine environment, including POPs, PAHs, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, as well as microplastics. Of particular relevance to marine species is the fact that these chemicals rarely occur in isolation and there is a real need to look at the realistic exposure to chemical cocktails in order to assess environmental pollutant stress.

Of special interest are also endocrine disrupting effects caused by many of these chemicals, in invertebrate and vertebrate species. I will be looking into using cellular stress markers of different marine species to determine toxic exposure responses.
In addition to research, I enjoy teaching and I am constantly aiming to improve my teaching skills in order to bring the basic sciences of biochemistry, cell biology and toxicology, to life for veterinary students to enjoy.

Achievements

Royal Society of London Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, National Institute of Environmental Science, Tsukuba Japan

Publications

A. B. Treuner Freeman, T. Horiguchi, N. Takiguchi, T. Imai and M. Morita, 2009. Sublethal effects of tributyltin and triphenyltin on larvae of three species of abalone from Japan. Australasian Journal of Ecotoxicology 15, 25-34.

A. Sturm, S. S. George, M. Dean, P. Cunningham and A. B. Treuner Freeman, 2009. ABC transporters in the Daphnia pulex genome: implications for ecotoxicology and drug resistance in crustacean parasites. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A - Molecular & Integrative Physiology 153 A 2, S109.

A. B. Treuner, 2002. Ecotoxicology of neotropical freshwater zooplankton species exposed to toxic mixtures. Ph.D. thesis, University of Stirling, Scotland.

A. B. Treuner, 1998. Microalgal competition under heavy metal stress. Diplomarbeit (M.Sc.Thesis), Freie Universität Berlin.

Current Projects

  • Ciguatera (toxic dinoflagellates) in lionfish and other marine species
  • Pesticides in St. Kitts and Nevis: a general study on application and types of pesticides used, looking at potential effects of runoff to coastal marine species
  • Persistent pollutants in cetaceans