Alongside its research and industry engagement programme, April also saw SPECTRA invest in a range of education, training and outreach activities that extended the project’s reach to new scientific audiences and contributed to the development of the next generation of analytical chemists and environmental scientists.
Master’s Lecture at AUTH: Advanced Mass Spectrometry
Prof. Dimitra Lambropoulou delivered a guest lecture to students on the Master’s Programme in Clinical and Industrial Pharmacology and Clinical Toxicology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, focusing on the advanced mass spectrometry techniques being developed and applied within SPECTRA. The lecture introduced students to suspect screening and non-target analysis (NTA) approaches, the challenges of identifying emerging contaminants in complex matrices, the power of high-resolution mass spectrometry as an investigative tool, and real-world applications in toxicology and environmental analysis.
The session generated lively discussion, with students actively engaging with the methodological and interpretive challenges that define this area of analytical science. Bridging cutting-edge project research with postgraduate education ensures that the next generation of pharmacologists, toxicologists and environmental scientists are aware of the tools and approaches available to them, and helps build the broader analytical capacity that the field needs.
Welcoming Students from the University of Groningen
The ENVMS Group AUTh at CIRI-AUTH welcomed a group of undergraduate students from the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen for a laboratory visit organised within the SPECTRA framework. The students were introduced to the lab’s core research areas, including the environmental challenges it addresses, the advanced analytical techniques it applies, and the data-driven methodologies that underpin its work. They also gained an overview of SPECTRA’s vision, mission and core activities, and the project’s contribution to research, innovation and sustainability in the European context.
Visits of this kind create a direct connection between academic education and applied environmental research, giving students from across Europe a first-hand sense of how analytical chemistry contributes to some of the most pressing environmental and public health challenges of our time.
Training Visit from the University of Cyprus: PFAS Analysis by Orbitrap LC-HRMS
In a more intensive training context, the ENVMS Group AUTh hosted Rafaella Panagiotou, a Master’s student from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Cyprus, for a hands-on training visit focused on PFAS analysis. Rafaella, supervised by Prof. Despo Fatta-Kassinos of NIREAS at the University of Cyprus, spent her stay working with Lida Koronaiou and Dr Vasileios Alampanos on advanced methodologies for the determination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in surface waters, wastewater and leachates using Orbitrap LC-HRMS.
The training combined theoretical background with practical laboratory work and real sample analysis, developing skills in sample preparation, instrumental analysis and data interpretation that are directly applicable to PFAS research in environmental and regulatory contexts. PFAS, a large group of highly persistent synthetic chemicals now found across environmental matrices worldwide, represent one of the most significant emerging contaminant challenges in environmental science, and the development of robust, validated analytical methods for their determination is a priority both scientifically and regulatorily.
The visit was coordinated by Prof. Lambropoulou and reflects SPECTRA’s commitment to knowledge transfer and capacity building beyond its immediate partner institutions, contributing to the development of analytical expertise in PFAS research across the wider European research community. Prof. Fatta-Kassinos expressed warm thanks for the hospitality extended to Rafaella, and the SPECTRA team looks forward to continuing this collaboration in future activities.
