Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology

Rocío is a Principal Toxicologist at Ricardo with over 8 years of experience in regulatory toxicology, risk assessment and safety evaluations of consumer products across both private and public sectors.

Her core expertise lies in the cosmetics industry, complemented by work on biocides and occupational exposure to pharmaceutical ingredients. Her responsibilities have included toxicological evaluation of substances, scientific literature review and data reliability analysis, testing strategy design, application of non-animal testing methods (e.g., QSAR, read-across), exposure assessments and preparation of product safety dossiers. She is highly experienced in providing advice and guidance to ensure global regulatory compliance, including with EU, UK, US FDA, ASEAN, and Chinese authorities.

Rocío has also contributed to collaborative projects with industry associations and regulatory bodies on new approach methodologies and guidelines revision.

Simón is an enthusiastic ecotoxicologist and risk assessor with over 20 years’ experience in regulatory science and environmental policy. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences and a PhD focused on the environmental risk assessment of complex chemical mixtures.

Throughout his career, Simón has held key roles across the European Commission, European Agencies, Governmental Authorities, and the private sector. His expertise lies primarily in European chemical regulations such as REACH and the Biocidal Products Regulation, but his experience also extends to Medical Devices, Plant Protection Products, or the Water Framework Directive. Simon's international career has seen him living and working in the UK, Finland, and earlier in his life, New Jersey, USA.

Before joining Ricardo, Simón spent two years at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. There, he contributed to the implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive, supported the Green Finance team on initiatives such as the EU Taxonomy and the “do not significant harm” criteria, and played a pivotal role in establishing the Innovation Centre for Industrial Transformation and Emissions.

Simón has a proven track record in leadership and project management, successfully coordinating multicultural and multidisciplinary teams on complex, high-impact projects across diverse organizations. In October 2024, Simón joined Ricardo as an Associate Director, leading the Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology (ECT) team within the Chemical Risk Group. In this role, he spearheads initiatives that help clients navigate scientific challenges and achieve regulatory compliance globally.

Lisa is a Senior Ecotoxicologist with 10 years’ experience in aquatic ecotoxicology. Prior to joining Ricardo, she gained her PhD in Environmental Sciences and Ecotoxicology from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Norway, and a MSc in Applied Marine Sciences and a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Plymouth.

During her career she has specialised in assessing the toxicological consequence of short- and long-term exposures to a range of inorganic and organic pollutants (including nanomaterials, metals, radionuclides, and plastics) to aquatic and terrestrial organisms, plants, and ecosystems. Further to this, Lisa has extensive knowledge of oxidative stress related effects, reprotoxicity, and bioaccumulation of inorganic contaminants, as well as the behaviour of chemicals in aquatic systems.

As a lecturer, Lisa has a clear communication style with experience teaching the scientific principles that underpin metal and nanomaterial chemistry, analysis, and ecotoxicology. She has a thorough understanding of inorganic analytical chemistry of environmental samples, important for assessing the presence, concentration, and transport of inorganic pollutants.

Since joining Ricardo in 2024, Lisa has been involved in applying read-across methodologies for UVCB substances under the REACH regulation, assessing the ecotoxicological effects of hydrocarbon solvents,  and developing testing strategies to aid environmental hazard classification of surfactants and cosmetic ingredients under CLP regulation. 

Elaine is an environmental chemist with an interdisciplinary background. Prior to joining Ricardo, she earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Leipzig in Germany, a MSc in Toxicology from Oregon State University, and a BSc in Biochemistry from University of California Davis.

Her PhD research focused on the impact of ozonation used during wastewater treatment and involved novel compound discovery as well as biodegradation assessment of complex environmental mixtures. Working with vast non-target datasets has made Elaine talented at data wrangling and visualization, with the ability to draw conclusions from otherwise convoluted datasets. Elaine’s research during her MSc focused on PFAS surfactants used in firefighting materials (AFFFs) and investigated possible siloxane-based alternatives.  Elaine has experience working with a variety of different compound classes, including siloxane surfactants, PFAS, PAHs, and natural organic matter mixtures. She has broad experience with analytical chemistry and a variety of analytical methods important for the detection of chemicals in the environment.

Since joining Ricardo in 2024, Elaine has been involved in biodegradation and persistence evaluations of various substances. She has used her understanding of organic chemistry to better assess chemicals for their reactivity and potential environmental impacts.