Ecotoxicology and microbial contamination
The Ecotoxicology and Microbiological Contamination group addresses three areas of research:
1.- Assessment of the risks to ecosystems determined by pollutants and their interactions with the environment, considering the vulnerability of people, populations and communities to chemical and non-chemical stressors.
2.- Technology-based solutions for industries in the water sector in relation to the proliferation of harmful algae caused by cyanobacteria.
- Design of monitoring programs for the development of blooms of toxic cyanobacteria in reservoirs.
- Development of technology for the specific and sensitive detection of microcystins in water.
- Development of technology for the efficient and economical removal of microcystins during water treatment using biofilms.
3.- Studies of the impact of contaminants (pesticides, antibiotics and biocides) on microorganisms and resistance to antibiotics in aquatic environments:
- Potential effect of contaminants on bacterial populations.
- Detection of antibiotic resistant bacteria and resistance genes.
- Fitness cost linked to the acquisition of antibiotic resistance.
- Resistance gene transfer and the role of contaminants.
What do we do?
In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This Agenda has 17 Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all UN Member States, which are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.
The research carried out by the group contributes to achieving the following Sustainable Development Goals:
Research team
Dr. Andreu Rico Artero
Researcher. University of Valencia
Dra. María Blanca Sánchez Martínez
Researcher
Dra. Mª Ángeles Lezcano Vega
Researcher
Dra. Paula Elisa Redondo Hasselerharm
Researcher
Dr. Jesús Morón López
Researcher. European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology (Polish Academy of Science). Poland.
Dr. Theresa Schell
Research Assistant
Ángel Guillermo Pompa Pernía
Research Assistant
Dr. Melina Crettaz Minaglia
Laboratory technician (Graduated in Environmental Management and PhD in Biological Sciences)
Sara Martínez Pérez
Predoctoral researcher
Lorena Martínez García
Research Assistant
Daniel Franco López
Research Assistant
Dr. Andreu Rico Artero
Researcher. University of Valencia
Andreu Rico obtained his PhD on Environmental Sciences, with specialization on aquatic ecology and ecotoxicology, from Wageningen University (the Netherlands). Afterwards he worked as junior researcher at the Wageningen Environmental Research institute.
See full profile- andreu.rico@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Dra. María Blanca Sánchez Martínez
Researcher
Dr. Sánchez obtained her M.Sc. in Biochemistry from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). In 2005, she obtained her PhD in Molecular Biology from UAM, studying antibiotic biosynthesis regulation and resistance mechanisms by antibiotic producing microorganisms.
- blanca.sanchez@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Dra. Mª Ángeles Lezcano Vega
Researcher
PhD in Microbiology at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) (2017), European Master in Inland Water Quality Assessment at UAM and University of Mälardalen (Sweden) (2011) and degree in Environmental Sciences at UAM (2009).
- mangeles.lezcano@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Dra. Paula Elisa Redondo Hasselerharm
Researcher
She has a bachelor`s degree in Biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid and a master`s dregree in Water Quality Techniques and Sciences from University of Granada. In 2020, she obtained a PhD in Environmental Sciences at the University of Wageningen (The Netherlands), which she carried out in the Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group.
- paula.redondo@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Dr. Jesús Morón López
Researcher. European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology (Polish Academy of Science). Poland.
José M Carvajal-Arroyo obtained his PhD in Environmental Engineering in 2013 at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering of the University of Arizona (US). In 2014 he moved to Belgium to work as Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET) at Ghent University (Belgium) were he has worked until 2020.
See full profile- jesus.moron@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Dr. Theresa Schell
Research Assistant
Theresa received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in 2013 and a Master of Science in Ecotoxicology in 2016 from the University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany. As part of the Master’s she participated in two scientific internships, one as a student intern and field assistant at Rifcon GmbH, Germany and one at the University of New Brunswick, Canada.
- theresa.schell@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Ángel Guillermo Pompa Pernía
Research Assistant
He received his Bachelor Degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Havana (CUJAE) and his Master Degree in Electronic Systems Engineering from University Carlos III of Madrid.
- angelg.pompa@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Dr. Melina Crettaz Minaglia
Laboratory technician (Graduated in Environmental Management and PhD in Biological Sciences)
Melina Crettaz-Minaglia graduated in Environmental Management at the Autonomous University of Entre Rios (UADER, Argentina). She holds an MSc in Environmental Engineering (European University Miguel de Cervantes, Spain) and a PhD in Biological Sciences (National University of La Plata, Argentina).
- melina.crettaz@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Sara Martínez Pérez
Predoctoral researcher
Graduated in Environmental Sciences at Rey Juan Carlos University (2017) with a Master in Ecology at Autonomous University of Madrid (2019).
- sara.martinez@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Lorena Martínez García
Research Assistant
Graduated in Biology from the University of Santiago de Compostela (2018) and Master´s degree in Biotechnology from the Autonomous University of Madrid (2019).
- lorena.martinez@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
Daniel Franco López
Research Assistant
He´s graduated in Biology at University of Alcalá (2019). In his last year Daniel was the beneficiary of an Erasmus+ grant where he was able to carry out his final year studies at the University of Aveiro in Portugal.
- daniel.franco@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
