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SUMMARY:EESS talk on "Microbial biotransformation of contaminants: Explori
 ng the structure-environment-biodegradability conundrum"
DTSTART:20220412T121500
DTEND:20220412T131500
DTSTAMP:20260930T215133Z
UID:6c2a2fc003c4b4d29769406502fde544b3c5ecc99e24dea311c42124
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Kathrin Fenner\, Group Leader\, Environmental Fate Model
 ing\, Department of Environmental Chemistry\, EAWAG\nAbstract:\nDegradatio
 n by microbial communities reduces environmental exposure to chemicals. Th
 e ability to accurately predict rates and products of microbial biotransfo
 rmation for a broad variety of chemicals is therefore essential not only f
 or chemical risk management but also in the context of developing new\, en
 vironmentally safe chemicals. Prediction requires a thorough understanding
  of the various factors leading to observed biotransformation half-lives a
 nd pathways under different environmental conditions.\nIn my talk\, I will
  discuss experimental and data mining approaches that we employ to improve
  our understanding of why and how biotransformation efficiency differs bet
 ween microbial communities\, how these differences are modulated by chemic
 al structure and environmental conditions\, and how these insights support
  working towards the goal of predicting biotransformation. In the more mec
 hanism-oriented part of my lecture\, I will report on two large-scale biot
 ransformation studies\, one with activated sludge communities and one at t
 he wastewater treatment plant-river interface\, that allowed us to identif
 y linkages between environmental conditions\, community characteristics an
 d their biotransformation potential for different classes of chemicals. In
  the more applied part of my lecture\, I will present our efforts in biotr
 ansformation databases\, development of in silico tools for the prediction
  of biotransformation and extrapolation of biotransformation half-lives ac
 ross different environmental compartments\, and discuss how such tools can
  potentially support the design of degradable chemicals.\n\nShort biograph
 y:\nDr. Kathrin Fenner is Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry a
 t the Chemistry Department of the University of Zurich (Switzerland) and a
  senior scientist and group leader at the Department of Environmental Chem
 istry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Ea
 wag). Her research focuses on experimental and model-based approaches to g
 ain an in-depth understanding of chemical persistence in the environment. 
 The goal of her research is to not only improve current hazard assessment 
 schemes but also provide tools and design principles for better degradable
  compounds and efficient approaches to bioremediation. In 2015\, she recei
 ved an ERC Consolidator grant to support this line of research. She has pu
 blished more than 90 scientific research articles in the field of environm
 ental science. Kathrin chairs the section of “Chemistry and the Environm
 ent” of the Swiss Chemical Society\, and has served as Associate Editor 
 with Environmental Sciences: Water Research & Technology up until recently
 .
LOCATION:GC B1 10 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==GC%20B1%2010 https://epfl.zo
 om.us/j/66723503475
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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