Water quality, wastewater and toxicity research in the Czech Republic

Date: June 11, 2024 | Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm| Location: Macdonald Engineering Building Rm: 267| Hybrid Event

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The seminar will bring experience from the Czech Republic, offering presentations from two leading institutions in water research, T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute and the University of South Bohemia. The event is organized within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 ("clean water and sanitation for all") with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

The seminar will provide an insight into research priorities and methods in Central Europe. Czech researchers Katerina Sovova and Pavla Fojtikova will discuss their research focused on 1) microbial contamination of water and wastewater including monitoring of COVID-19 detection and antimicrobial resistance in the aquatic environment; and 2) the research of the release of toxic substances from waste into environmental components, together with monitoring the photochemical degradation of pharmaceuticals.

Speakers:

Katerina Sovova, PhD

Katerina Sovova works as a researcher in the field of Microbiology at T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, p.r.i., Brno branch. She graduated with a master's degree in General biology from the Masaryk University in Brno. During her PhD studies she was interested in the research of waterborne pathogens and their identification. Currently, at T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, p.r.i., she focuses on topics as water quality, waterborne pathogens, faecal pollution, microbial identification, and wastewater surveillance. 

She was involved in studies of water quality of fish ponds, mountain rivers, bathing waters, wastewater, anthropogenically influenced surface waters or water quality of water features of cultural heritage. Her activities in recent years have been related especially to the study of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in surface water and wastewater.

Katerina Sovova has experiences as Quality manager, Metrologist and Internal Auditor of analytical laboratory according to ISO 17025. She is a member of the Czechoslovak Society for Microbiology and EIONET Work Group for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of surface water.

Pavla Fojtikova, PhD

Pavla Fojtikova works as a researcher at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, where she leads an analytical and environmental chemistry group. She graduated with a master's degree in organic technology from the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague. During her PhD studies she was interested in the research of colloidal nanoparticles based on zeolites at the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech academy of sciences (CAS) and Ludwig Maximillian University of Munich (Marie Curie Fellowship). At the Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology centre CAS she has been involved in water quality monitoring of lakes, rivers and reservoirs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Currently, at the Faculty of Science, she focuses on the analysis of environmental and biological samples using liquid chromatography. She guides undergraduate and graduate students in the implementation and validation of HPLC methods. The environmentally oriented research topic is photodegradation of widely prescribed drugs under light conditions relevant to natural surface waters and toxicity tests of the photoproduct mixtures. Her thematic focus is also on the study of toxic substances in cigarette butts and their subsequent fate in environmental compartments.

Pavla Fojjtikova is currently working on establishing of a new Bachelor's degree programme in Sustainability Management. She is also involved in modern forms of project-based learning and has long been involved in the popularization of science. She is a member of the European section of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (professional membership).