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Luigi Margiotta-Casaluci

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Room: Halsbury Building 150
Brunel University
Uxbridge
UB8 3PH
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1895 266267
Email: Luigi.Margiotta-Casaluci@brunel.ac.uk

About Luigi

Education

2007–2011:
Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology, Brunel University, Institute for the Environment, London, UK. Thesis title: Integrated testing strategy for the study of the effects of the human pharmaceutical dutasteride on fish.

2003-2005:
Master Degree in Marine Biology, Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.

2000-2003:
Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences, Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.

Career

2011-Present:

Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Brunel Univesity, Institute for the Environment, London, UK.

Research

Research Interests

Research Activity

Recently it has been discovered that many human pharmaceuticals, after being excreted by people, are not fully degraded in wastewater treatment plants, and hence enter rivers. Thus fish are exposed to these drugs. It is currently unknown whether or not these drugs are present at high enough concentrations to cause effects to fish, and if so, what these effects are. My current research project focuses on human pharmaceuticals that may affect fish steroidogenesis, impairing fundamental processes such as sex development and reproduction.

Publications

Journal Papers

(2013) Margiotta-Casaluci, L., Hannah, RE. and Sumpter, JP., Mode of action of human pharmaceuticals in fish: the effects of the 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, dutasteride, on reproduction as a case study., Aquat Toxicol 128-129 113- 123 Download publication

(2011) Margiotta-Casaluci, L. and Sumpter, JP., 5α-Dihydrotestosterone is a potent androgen in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), General and Comparative Endocrinology 171 (3) : 309- 318

(2011) Brian, JV., Beresford, N., Margiotta-Casaluci, L. and Sumpter, JP., Preliminary data on the influence of rearing temperature on the growth and reproductive status of fathead minnows Pimephales promelas, Journal of Fish Biology 79 (1) : 80- 88 Download publication

(2010) Runnalls, TJ., Margiotta-Casaluci, L., Kugathas, S. and Sumpter, JP., Pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment: Steroids and anti-steroids as high priorities for research, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 16 (6) : 1318- 1338

Reports

(2011) Ellis, T., Scott, A.P., Waring, C., Margiotta-Casaluci, L., Pottinger, T.G., Morris, S., Sumpter, J.P., Accuracy of methods of sex steroids determination. Defra, 28pp. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/15247/

Conference papers

(2012) Margiotta-Casaluci, L., Hannah, R., Sumpter, J.P., Mechanism of action of human pharmaceuticals in fish: the 5alpha-reductase inhibitor dutasteride as case study. 6th World Congress/22nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Germany, Berlin.