Health and Environment

Groups that are part of Health and Environment:

  • GROUP OF PLASTICS IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT (PLASMA) – ICM
  • APPLIED ENOLOGICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY GROUP (BEA)
  • ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY GROUP (ENVITOX)
  • INTEGRATIVE ECOLOGY OF INLAND WATERS GROUP (IFE)

PLASTICS IN MARINE ENVIROMENT GROUP (PLASMA) – ICM

Dr. Mª Montserrat Sala
msala@icm.csic.es

Research lines:

  • Effects of microplastics and their additives on marine organisms, from microorganisms to mammals
  • Photo and biodegradation of plastic leachates
  • Identification and isolation of marine bacteria with genetic potential to degrade microplastics (PET)
  • Molecular mechanisms of enzymatic plastic biodegradation and enzyme design

GRUPO DE BIOTECNOLOGÍA ENOLÓGICA APLICADA (BEA) – CIAL

Dr. M. Victoria Moreno Arribas
victoria.moreno@csic.es

Research lines:

  • The research group is part of European projects and international consortia focused on understanding the real dimension of human risks associated with the ingestion of microplastics/nanoplastics (MP/NP), and associated chemical and pathogenic pollutants, through the food we eat and other sources of exposure.

  • We have developed different model systems of the human gastrointestinal tract that physiologically represent the interaction of MNPs in the digestive tract and specifically their effects on the intestinal microbiome to evaluate levels/sources of exposure and fate of NTMsPs in the human body. In particular, our contribution to the Dynamic Gastrointestinal Simulator (simgi‍) of the CSIC (https://www.cial.uam-csic.es/) and applications to different types and sizes of MNPs, and their combinations stand out.
  • We collaborate with hospitals and healthcare centers in controlled clinical studies on the effects of MNPs in different population groups, combining biomedical measurements of body fluids and their relationship with external exposures and biomarkers at the functional level.

 

ENVIROMENTAL TOXICOLOGY GROUP (ENVITOX) – IDAEA

Prof. Cinta Porte Visa
cpvqam@cid.csic.es

Research lines:

  • Use of alternative in-vitro methods (fish, human cells) to evaluate the toxicity of plastic additives and polymers, micro- y nano-plastics.
  • Ecotoxicology: Daphnia and zebra fish to study of biological responses to plastic additives and particles.
  • Environmental and analytical chemistry: Mass spectrometric based methods for plastic additives and their degradation products.
  • Analysis of microplastics in different environmental matrices (air, water, soil and sediments)

 

INTEGRATIVE ECOLOGY OF INLAND WATERS GROUP (IFE) – CEAB

Dra. Berta Bonet

berta.bonet@ceab.csic.es

Research lines:

  • Study of the transport, retention, decomposition and effect of plastic materials (conventional and bioplastics) in river ecosystems based on physicochemical and biological analyses in the context of climate change.
  • Use of different experimental approaches to address and study the problem of plastics and bioplastics in river ecosystems: field, mesocosms (Urban River Lab (URL) and microcosms (Laboratory for Experimentation with Living Organisms (LEOV)).
  • Plastisphere: study of the relationship between river microbial communities and plastics.
  • Citizen science (Plasticopyr Switch). Bringing the problem of plastics in river ecosystems closer to society by involving them in sampling and obtaining globally shared data (National Geographic database – Marine Debris Tracker).