The IDAEA researchers Ana Yáñez, from the Environmental Geochemistry and Atmospheric Research (EGAR) group, and Giuseppina Zuri, from the Chemometrics group, have obtained two “La Caixa” Foundation fellowships to do their postdoctoral and predoctoral research projects, respectively.
The ”la Caixa” Foundation has awarded 110 doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships to researchers who will carry out their projects at leading universities and research centers in Spain and Portugal. In this way, the entity supports young talents and promotes innovative and high-quality research.
These are the awarded projects at IDAEA:
- Uncovering the importance of the interaction between Volatile Organic Compounds and rainwater – Ana Yáñez SerranoI propose a novel and innovative approach integrating technologies to quantify the role of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in rainwater. This project is aimed to design and construct an automatic rainwater VOC sampler prototype to be deployed for 1 year in a Mediterranean forest. Laboratory plant and soil experiments will also be performed to explore the effects of chemically modified rainwater in the ecosystems at the process level. At last, an integrated assessment and review will be performed to assess the impacts of VOCs in rainwater at a landscape and regional level.
- Exposure and health effects of microplastics in humans – Giuseppina ZuriNowadays, human exposure to microplastic is raising concerns. In fact, humans are exposed to microplastics through the air, water, and food. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the possible health effects triggered by MP exposure. The aim of this PhD project is to develop and validate a new sampling design and method of analysis to monitor microplastics in different matrices such as air, water, and biota. The standardised procedures will be then used to generate monitoring data and to build exposure and risk models based on total daily exposure.
The ”la Caixa” Foundation program is the most important promoted by private entities in Spain and Europe, both in terms of the number of offered fellowships and the variety of disciplines. In the 2021 call, 65 doctoral and 45 postdoctoral scholarships have been awarded to excellent researchers, who are offered an attractive environment to carry out their projects.
Congratulations to Ana and Giuseppina!
