Margareta Törnqvist

Margareta Törnqvist is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Stockholm University, where she conducts research at the intersection of environmental chemistry and human health.

Professor Törnqvist specializes in environmental chemistry, with a particular focus on toxicology and cancer risk assessment. Her research program centers on developing and applying analytical methods to detect and measure human exposure to reactive chemicals and metabolites that could be genotoxic and carcinogenic. Her primary analytical approach involves the measurement of adducts (reaction products) with blood proteins using mass spectrometry techniques. This methodology not only helps quantify known exposures but can also detect previously unknown exposures to reactive chemicals. Professor Törnqvist has extensively studied small alkylating chemicals and metabolites, including benzo[a]pyrene, examining exposure pathways from workplace environments, urban air pollution, food sources, and endogenous formation within the human body.

Her recent collaborative research has increasingly focused on vulnerable populations, particularly examining children's exposure to environmental chemicals in relation to dietary habits, and prenatal exposure patterns and their potential connections to birth outcomes. This research direction represents an important shift toward understanding how environmental exposures impact sensitive developmental stages.

Professor Törnqvist's work has significant implications for public health policy and risk assessment methodologies. Her protein adduct measurement approach provides valuable tools for estimating internal dose (AUC), understanding metabolic pathways, and ultimately improving cancer risk assessment models. This work bridges the gap between environmental exposure science and clinical toxicology, providing more accurate data for regulatory decision-making.