Maria Christina Nika

General research interests:

• Human Exposomics
• Environmental Chemistry (monitoring of priority pollutants and emerging contaminants in environmental samples)
• Wastewater tertiary treatment processes (chlorination, ozonation, UV-treatment), Identification of unknown compounds (suspect and non-target screening approaches)
• Application of suspect and non-target screening workflows for the identification of new compounds • Method Development
• Reversed Phase Liquid Chromatography (RP-LC) and Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC)
• High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry (TIMS)
• Risk assessment
• High resolution mass spectra interpretation
• Advanced data treatment of HRMS data

Projects:

• 2023-2025: EnviBrain “Characterization of Diffuse Glioma tumors’ chemical exposome and potential positive associations with environmental pollution through air particulate matter analysis and wastewater based epidemiology” (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 101105240) As Principal Investigator
• 2023-2026: nexus-MONARC “Capacity building nexus for monitoring water quality in multi-stressor areas: pilot study at the Hellenic volcanic arc” (HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03, 101079156).
• 2022-2023: EPISCOPE “Epidemiological Surveillance through Continuous Observation of Wastewater” (Ministry of Heath)
• 02-12/2021: Patterns of drug use and chemical exposure in Greece during COVID-19 pandemic using wastewater-based epidemiology (National Public Health Organization)
• 2020-2022: DIAN.Y.A., Integrated on-site management of hospital wastewater (European Regional Development Fund of the EU and Greek national funds)
• 2020-2022: Extended monitoring of emerging contaminants in landfill leachates of Greece: Occurrence, Fate and Risk assessment (State Scholarships Foundation (ΙΚΥ)) As Principal Investigator
• 2019-2023: BIGDATA4RIVERS: Improving the European Rivers Water Quality through Smart Water Management Policies (INTERREG EUROPE).
• 2020: NORMAN collaborative trial (CT) on suspect and non-target screening (NTS) in biota (NORMAN Association).
• 2019-2020: JDS4, Joint Danube Survey 4 (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, ICPDR).
• 2019-2020: EMBLAS-PLUS, Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea – Selected measures (UNDP).
• 2018-2020: Investigation of the occurrence of emerging contaminants in the Athenian Water Reservoirs (EYDAP S.A.).
• 2018-2022: LIFE APEX, Systematic use of contaminant data from apex predators and their prey in chemicals management, LIFE17 ENV/SK/000355 (European Union).
• 2018-2020: Monitoring of Asopos river basin: Assessment of pollution/contamination and qualitative/ quantitative investigation of contamination levels and possible sources of pollution (Region of Attica).
• 2016-2018: EMBLAS II, EU/UNDP Project: Improving environmental monitoring in the Black Sea. Analysis of water framework priority substances and screening of black sea specific pollutants in water biota and sediment samples obtained during the National Pilot Monitoring Studies and Joint Open Sea Surveys and risk assessment of identified pollutants (UNDP).
• 2014-2015: TREMEPOL Project, ARISTEIA, Ministry of Education: Transformation Products of Emerging Pollutants in the aquatic environment (Ministry of Education).
• 2014-2015: Thalis: Investigation of organic micropollutants’ fate in wastewater treatment and study of their behavior during wastewater disposal to the aquatic environment (Ministry of Education).