Torunn has a master in molecular cell biology from NTNU, Trondheim and a PhD in ecotoxicology from the University of Oslo. In her thesis she used and developed different cellular biomarkers in earthworms, to detect heavy metal toxicity in polluted soil.
She has worked as a researcher at National Institute of Public Health, with classification and labelling of chemicals, she has been teaching science at Luster high school, and has been an associated professor in cell biology, physiology and genetics at Sogn og Fjordane University College. She has been an operation manager at SIMAS (Sogn intermunicipial waste company), and worked as a senior engineer and pollution authority in the environmental department of the County Governor in Sogn og Fjordane.
Torunn has a particular interest in R&D projects in sustainable use of resources and waste (circular economy), greener and more sustainable industry, and how climate change may impact on the release and toxicity of environmental pollutants.