The final days of March and the opening of April brought two connected events in Thessaloniki that placed SPECTRA at the centre of high-level scientific and policy dialogue on water quality, environmental monitoring and the future of sustainable aquaculture.
Invited Lecture and ESR Presentations at CSRW2026
The 2nd International Conference on Circularity, Sustainability and Resilience in Water, Wastewater and Sludge Management (CSRW2026) took place in Thessaloniki from 30 March to 1 April 2026, and SPECTRA was represented strongly across the programme.
Prof. Dimitra Lambropoulou delivered an invited talk entitled “LC-HRMS strategy for suspect and untargeted discovery of emerging contaminants in wastewaters”, presenting SPECTRA’s high-resolution mass spectrometry approaches to identifying known and unknown contaminants in complex wastewater matrices. The talk drew on the project’s ongoing analytical work and its development of suspect and non-target screening workflows that can detect emerging contaminants without requiring prior knowledge of their identity, an approach with significant implications for environmental monitoring and regulatory science.
SPECTRA’s early-stage researchers were also well represented in the conference programme. Dr Vasileios Alampanos and Lida Koronaiou presented a poster on LC-HRMS-based environmental monitoring of emerging contaminants in the Aliakmonas and Pinios rivers, combining advanced suspect and non-target analysis workflows with curated databases to enhance the detection and identification of both known and previously uncharacterised contaminants in these major Greek river systems. Ilektra Feida presented a poster on wide-scope HRMS screening for emerging contaminants in aquaculture environments, applying target, suspect and non-target screening to the detection of a broad range of contaminants in aquaculture water and mussel samples, work with direct relevance to food safety and the sustainability of aquaculture systems.
The conference provided an important platform for SPECTRA to present its analytical work to a community of water researchers, engineers and policymakers, and to engage with the broader scientific conversation about how advanced monitoring approaches can support more circular and resilient water management systems.
2nd SPECTRA Stakeholder Round Table – 31 March
On 31 March, hosted at the Aristotle University’s Research Dissemination Center (KEDEA) and running alongside CSRW2026, SPECTRA convened its second Stakeholder Round Table on the theme “Sustainable Marine Waters and Aquaculture under Pressure: Monitoring, Treatment, Climate and Policy Challenges and Pathways to Future Solutions.”
The event brought together a diverse and highly engaged group of stakeholders including researchers, policymakers, industry representatives and environmental experts from across Greece and beyond. The round table was co-moderated by Prof. Dimitra Lambropoulou and Assoc. Prof. Ioannis Giantsis of AUTH’s Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment.
An expert panel drawn from across the European research community contributed perspectives spanning the full complexity of the topic. Assoc. Prof. Daria Sanna and Assoc. Prof. Marco Casu from the University of Sassari brought expertise in biomedical sciences and veterinary medicine respectively. Assoc. Prof. Inci Tuney of Ege University contributed a Turkish research perspective. Prof. Anila Hoda and Assoc. Prof. Valbona Kolaneci from the Agricultural University of Tirana addressed aquaculture and fisheries challenges in an Albanian context. Assoc. Researcher Konstantinos Plakas from CERTH, Assist. Prof. Athanasia Tolkou from Democritus University of Thrace, and Dr Maria Kalaitzidou from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food rounded out a panel that genuinely bridged science, technology and policy.
Discussions explored emerging contaminants and pollution pressures in marine systems, advanced monitoring and early warning approaches, innovative treatment technologies, climate change and ecosystem resilience, circular economy strategies for aquaculture, and the governance frameworks needed to translate scientific knowledge into effective policy. The event closed with a stakeholder networking session that extended the conversations into new collaborative directions.
SPECTRA thanks Prof. Ioannis Katsoyiannis, Chair of CSRW2026, for generously hosting the round table within the conference framework and for the excellent organisation that made both events so productive.
