Name: Maaike Gerritse

Institute: Wageningen University (Host Microbe Interactomics)

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I will be analysing and comparing the human microbiomes from the nasal swabs and fecal samples taken from participants at the case study sites. I will be working in the lab, extracting the DNA from these samples, and I will also perform the data analysis. Next to that, I will be working with human organoids (airways and intestines) and investigating their response to 5 different PPP compounds by analyzing differences in gene expression.

Name: Dennis Knuth

Institute: Wageningen University (Soil Physics and Land Management)

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I am investigating the effect of pesticides on the agricultural ecosystem. For this, I focus on the relationship between pesticide mixtures and the soil-plant microbiome, and the effects of these mixtures on earthworms.

Name: Erin Henry

Institute: Wageningen University (Wildlife Ecology and Conservation / Host-Microbe Interactomics)

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I will be investigating the effects of pesticide mixtures on insects, focusing on honeybees and bumblebees. I will first compare the diversity and abundance of ground-dwelling and flying insects between case study sites. Then, I will assess the impacts of pesticide mixtures on the longevity, physiology, behavior, and gut microbiome of bees.

Name: Freya Debler

Institute: Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (Coastal Environmental Chemistry)

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT:  I will analyse pesticide concentrations in air samples (particulate and gaseous phase) as well as in wind-eroded sediment from two sampling sites in Europe (The Netherlands and Portugal). The air samples are taken by high-volume samplers and wind-eroded sediments are sampled by BSNE samplers.

Name: Philipp Mäder

Institute: Hohenheim - Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I will be evaluating the effects of plant protection products and mixtures on the soil microbiome using standardised methods. Furthermore, I will test new bioindicators for soil quality.

Name: Rie Matsuzaki

Institute: University College Cork (Neuroscience and Anatomy)

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I will be examining the effect of pesticides on the host's microbiome and behaviour, using mice. This will be achieved by initially exposing the animals to certain doses of pesticides followed by performing analysis on their gut microbiome and running behavioural tests (to measure anxiety-, depressive-like behaviours).

Name: Shiva Sabzevari

Institute: Masaryk University (Environment & Health )

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I have experience in physical and analytical chemistry and analysing pesticide residues in soil, water and crops. In SPRINT, as a part of WP5 I am cooperating in Toolbox development, specifically in terms of estimation of pesticide’s input to the environment and assessment of their ecotoxicological effects and risks. Also I will do thje assessment of pesticides’ dietary exposure in European scale in cooperation with Anke Huss her team at IRAS.

Name: Fabian Stache

Institute: Hohenheim - Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I’m interested in evaluating effects of pesticides and their mixtures onto soil microorganisms by using standardized methods and testing new methods. Especially I will test molecular methods like functional gene analyses and if those are suitable as a method for pesticide approval.

Name: Nina Wieland

Institute: Radboud University (Environmental Science)

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: My project focusses on deriving pesticide kinetics in humans from volunteer studies. I will collect biomonitoring data from blood plasma, urine, faeces and skin to study kinetics after dermal or oral exposure to pesticides. This data will serve as input for the development of computational models, which can be used to back-calculate internal concentrations to uptake.

Name: Adelcia Veiga 

Institute: Wageningen University (Soil Physics and Land Management and Host Microbe Interactomics) and Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra- School of Agriculture, Portugal (not a SPRINT partner) 

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT: I will be investigating the effects of multiple pesticide residues on human health. I will be working with outdoor air samples via passive samples. Additionally, I will work in the lab with cell lines and human organoids (airways and guts) to investigate the potential effect of complex (real) pesticides mixtures residues.  

Name: Sylvina da Silva Fenandes

Institute: University of Antwerp

Description of PhD activities within SPRINT:  I have experience in animal experiments and subsequent analyses. In SPRINT I will contribute to WP4 by analyzing animal experiments that investigate the effects of pesticide mixtures on overall health and specific organs, with special interest in the kidneys. Here, I will supplement the standard histological and biochemical analyses with molecular RNA sequencing to look for deregulated cellular processes upon pesticide exposure.” 

Name: Samuel Weber

Institute: University of Bern (Soil Science)

Description of MSc activities within SPRINT: I am interested in identifying innovative agricultural practices to reduce the reliance on PPPs. I will conduct a systematic literature review (D2.5) and further evaluate the outcomes partly through fieldwork in Switzerland (CSS 4).

Name: Assif Friedman

Institute: Univeristy of Utrecht (Risk Assessment)

Description of MSc activities within SPRINT: I will investigate and model airborne pesticide exposure on a national scale within WP5 of SPRINT in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Denmark. The primary goal is to predict exposure of humans and ecosystem. I will utilize pesticide registration data, crop data  and meteorological data as inputs. Model validation will be achieved by comparing modeled pesticide concentrations with measured data from previous projects (e.g. OBO) and SPRINT.