Centre members

my research focuses on environmental management, with emphasis on resource and waste management systems. specifically, i develop methods for performing holistic and integrated environmental, economic, social and technical assessments of resource recovery systems based on a systems thinking approach. using this approach, i combine environmental science and engineering with an understanding of the political, organisational, structural and cultural aspects that act synergistically in a resource recovery system to highlight areas of intervention for promoting sustainability. my research is predominantly desktop based and focuses on four key areas: food waste prevention and management plastic and plastic packaging system assessment construction components reuse and modular structures waste electrical and electronic equipment (weee) repair and reuse i am also interested in the implications of technological and regulatory lock-ins, the role of stakeholders in sustainability transitions, the impact of informal recycling systems on environment and society, in waste infrastructure availability and adaptation based on area-specific characteristics, the use of smart technologies for tracking components and products across the value chain, and in circular economy. since arriving at brunel university in october 2018, i have been involved in teaching on the msc programme in environmental management and the bsc programme in environmental sciences. i contributed to the "environmental management and legislation" (msc) and "research skills, gis and fieldwork ii" modules (bsc - year 2). this academic year (2019/20) i will lead the module in “environmental management” (msc) and the study blocks in "environmental governance" (bsc - year 3) and "sustainable development" (bsc - year 3).

as an interdisciplinary scientist with a background in biology and analytical chemistry, my research interests are focussed on the impact of chemicals in the environment and the interaction this chemical stress has with other environmental stressors. my expertise lies in small molecule mass spectrometry to determine chemicals found in the environment (especially in wildlife) and to determine biomarkers and pathways associated with adverse effects in exposed organisms. i am also interested in the integration of artificial intelligence within environmental toxicology to support and solve different environmental challenges. from the start of my phd at king's college london my research was originally focussed on the uptake, biotransofrmation and elimination of pharmaceuticals in a freshwater invertebrate (gammarus pulex) commonly found in uk rivers. i developed and validated machine learning models to predict these proccesses to support and potentially replace bioaccumulation testing during environmental risk assessments. i then moved into a postdoctoral position where i focussed on understanding the impact of pharmaceuticals by assessing behavioural disruption in these organisms. i developed and applied metabolomic workflows to gain a mechanistic understanding of animal behaviour and to link cause-effect relationships for different drug exposures. here at brunel, i will be working in three main areas concerned with chemical pollution. first is concerned with the determination of chemicals (and mixtures) using exposomics to characterise the chemical space in the environment, with a focus on internalised residues in animals. second, improving mechanistic understanding of cause-effect relationships using metabolomics and lipidomics to determine biochemical changes that are phenotypically anchored. finally, development and application of ai to support envrionmental risk assessment, replace animal testing and improve interpretation of complex datasets to better understand animal health. environmental toxicology environmental metabolomics & lipidomics animal behaviour & physiology aritficial intelligence & machine learning

i am a mathematician with a strong background in statistics and biology. my academic research has covered a wide range of areas, encompassing epidemiology, ecotoxicology, toxicology and pharmacology. having gained an international reputation for my research in biomathematics and statistics in various interdisciplinary international research projects, i can draw on a wide range of expertise and experience. since 2007 i am working mainly as an independent consultant, providing consultancy and training in biostatistics, biomathematics and data management to a broad client base in the uk and europe. my clients include industry, government, international organisations and the academic world. my aim is to make biostatistics accessible and effective as a tool to solve practical problems, based on sound statistical knowledge and modern developments in biostatistics and biomathematics. qualifications diploma in mathematics (major subject: statistics) prediploma in biology post-graduate qualification in epidemiology (german society for medical informatics, biometrics and epidemiology) career 2011 - present: research fellow. institute for the environment, brunel university2007 – present: independent biostatistical consultant (scholze consultancy, london, uk) 2003 – 2007: research scientist in two european union-funded research projects, centre for toxicology, the school of pharmacology, university of london. 1997 – 2003: research scientist and co-coordination in two european union-funded research projects, university of bremen, department of biology and chemistry. 1996 – 1997: research scientist, university of bremen, department of statistics, germany. 1994 – 1996: research scientist in epidemiological studies, bremen institute for prevention research and social medicine, germany. 1992 – 1994: research scientist in epidemiological studies, university of bremen, department of statistics, germany. my interest in research can be broken down into two related fields. one is focused on statistical and mathematical methods in dose-response analysis, with applications in biology, epidemiology, (eco)toxicology and pharmacology. the other is concerned with the impact of chemical mixtures on humans and the environment and how statistical and mathematical methods can provide assistance. it is in this area that i have concentrated most of my efforts, and for which i have an international reputation. upcoming research areas include computational statistics and computational systems biology. areas of expertise: planning, analysis and assessment of dose-response studies sample design, sample size estimation and power calculations multiple testing multi-component and multivariate analysis statistical methods in epidemiology uncertainty analysis deterministic and stochastic simulation techniques in bioscience (monte-carlo, resampling, pk/pd simulation, process simulation) analysis of microarray studies quantitative methods in chemical risk assessment pb/pk modelling

i am an environmental scientist, professor of exposome science, fellow of the institution of environmental sciences, a chartered chemist and fellow of the royal society of chemistry. my research covers a range of topics in environmental, analytical, exposome and water sciences. my research is focused on the development of analytical techniques for the determination of environmental contaminants to assess animal and human exposure to hazardous compounds in the environment. my work includes investigations into the occurrence and fate of emerging environmental contaminants and hazardous substances in the aquatic and terrestrial environment and the study of their behaviour during wastewater treatment and drinking water production. my research investigates the elimination of micro-pollutants from wastewater and potable water through conventional water treatment processes and i apply green chemistry principals and green technologies to eliminate or convert hazardous pollutants to less harmful or more biodegradable compounds. my research covers the formation and occurrence of disinfection-by-products resulting from conventional and advanced treatment. my studies involve the development of high resolution tandem mass spectrometry methods for the identification of contaminants in human body fluids, biota, potable water and wastewater samples. my research involves the development of new strategies in data interpretation using spectral and chromatographic deconvolution and chemometric methods of nontargeted analysis to address unknown hazards or "known or unknown unknowns." career 2013 to present, professor in the college of health, medicine and life sciences, brunel university london 2016 to 2023, vice dean international, college of health, medicine and life sciences, brunel university london 2005-2012 principal scientist, severn trent laboratories, reading 1999-2005 principal scientist, water research centre (wrc-nsf), medmenham 1990-1999 principal scientist, water research centre (wrc), medmenham analytical techniques; organic mass spectrometry, environmental contaminants; wastewater treatment; sewage sludge; disinfection-by-products; surface waters; sediment; soil; biota. research activities: my research covers a range of topics related to the development and application of analytical techniques for the determination of environmental contaminants in wastewater, sewage sludge, body fluids and human tissue and in environmental samples including surface waters, sediment, soil and biota. my work can be divided into the following areas: development of analytical methods to determine environmental contaminants in wastewater and the aquatic environment. focus on emerging contaminants e.g. endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceutical and personal care products, pesticides and pesticide metabolites and natural ecotoxins. development of methods for assessing animal and human exposure to compounds in the environment by analysis of body fluids and tissue samples. data is used to determine whether exposure to particular contaminants has taken place and to determine the magnitude of, and temporal variations in any exposure. determination of the removal of priority pollutants and emerging hazardous substances in conventional wastewater treatment plants and by advanced tertiary treatment. the determination of the fate and behaviour of biologically active chemicals in the aquatic and terrestrial environment using non-target screening, effect-directed analysis and high resolution ms and ms/ms based techniques. determination of the formation and occurrence of disinfection-by-products (and trace contaminants) in raw and potable water e.g. haloacetic acids, perfluorinated organics, nitrogented and halogenated dbps. development of new strategies in data interpretation using spectral and chromatographic deconvolution and chemometric methods to address unknown hazards or “unknown unknowns”. key funding from 2000 to present: 2000 - 2003 natural environment research council awarded £85k for a two year project to determine steroid oestrogens in wastewater, river water and river sediments 2002 – 2003 endocrine disrupters in sewage sludge – funding £84k (funded by united kingdom water industry research) 2003 – 2004 endocrine disrupters in sewage influent : analytical method development – funding £37k (funded by united kingdom water industry research, sponsored by the department for environment, food and rural affairs) 2004 a review of analytical methods to determine steroid oestrogens – funding £12k (department for environment, food and rural affairs) 2005 unification of analytical methods to determine steroid oestrogens in surface waters, crude and treated sewage to meet the environment agency pnec requirements, research in collaboration with the environment agency – funding £27k (department for environment, food and rural affairs) 2005 – 2009 edc demonstration programme – funding total value ca £2.7m over 3 years (severn trent water, southern water, northumbarian water and dwr cymru welsh water) 2005 – 2007 decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (d5) in the aquatic environment – funding ca£120k (unilever safety & environmental assurance centre) 2005 – 2009 fate and behaviour of pharmaceuticals in wastewater – funding ca£110k (pfizer global) 2005 – 2012 trace organics in waste water (various contracts, e.g. tamiflu, drugs of abuse, pesticides, dbps) - t&d severn trent water ca£2.5m over 6 years 2008 – 2010 nitrosamines in drinking water - funding ca£165k (drinking water inspectorate) with wrc plc 2008 – 2009 pfos in drinking water – funding ca£80k (drinking water inspectorate) with wrc plc 2009 – 2010 perchlorate in drinking water - funding ca£80k (drinking water inspectorate) with wrc plc. 2010 to 2012 haloacetic acids in drinking water by icmsms - funding ca£22k (drinking water inspectorate) with wrc plc 2010 to 2012 monitoring of nitrogenated disinfection by-products in drinking water – funding £95k department for environment, food and rural affairs (defra) / drinking water inspectorate (dwi) with dr michael templeton, prof nigel graham (imperial college london) and dr howard weinberg (university of north carolina-chapel hill, usa) 2010 – 2012 chemicals investigation programme – funding total value ca £3.1m over 3 years (thames water, southern water, yorkshire water, dwr cymru welsh water) 2013 - 2016 a comparative study on the ic-msms and methylation geecd methods of analysis of haloacetic acids - funding £89,000 department for environment, food and rural affairs (defra)/drinking water inspectorate (dwi). principal investigator 2014 - 2016 a decoy artificial snail host to control schistosoma mansoni - funding $100,00, bill and melinda gates foundation. co-investigator. dr edwin routledge (pi) teaching responsibilities: i am programme lead of the mres environmental management and mres environmental science degree programmes. i lecture on a number of environmental science and environmental management degree programmes, including msc environmental management and bsc environmental sciences. co-ordination roles module lead for environmental chemistry module lead research planning and communication skills module lead dissertation for mres environmental sciences module lead dissertation for mres environmental management module lead for professional experience (environmental science) contribution to other modules environmental management environmental pollution clean technology and the environment data analysis and research skills in environmental science research dissertation - supervise masters and final year undergraduate projects (fyps). my teaching activity: starting 2021 – programme lead mres environmental management/environmental science 2019-present – module lead bsc environmental chemistry 2016- 2019 - module lead msc environmental management 2013 to present – brunel university london, teaching on msc environmental science programmes 2007 to 2013 – university of reading, department of chemistry (mchem chemistry) 2001 to 2010 - leonardo da vinci post graduate training programmes phd supervision i am first or second supervisor to a number of phd students in environmental sciences. other academic resposibilities i peer review articles for high quality environmental and analytical science journals including environmental science and technology, water research, journal of chromatography,environmental pollution, science of the total environment, chemosphere, current pharmaceutical analysis and others. i regularly serve as an internal and external examiner for phd, mphil and mres awards in the uk and internationally. i have examined pgr students at kings college london, cranfield university, kingston university london and the australian national university. i am a member of a number of college and university level academic committees.