EcotoxicoMic 2026
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5th International Conference in Microbial Ecotoxicology
12-14 October 2026, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the University of Thessaly, the EcotoxicoMic Network, and the Fondation evertéa, it is my great pleasure to invite you to participate in the 5th EcotoxicoMic Conference, which will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece 
, from 📅 October 12th to 14th, 2026.
🔬 Conference Focus
The 5th EcotoxicoMic Conference comes at a timely moment to highlight the central role of microorganisms in polluted environments — as:
- ♻️ Mediators of pollutant degradation and detoxification, and potential vehicles for ecosystem remediation;
- 🌱 Ecotoxicological indicators revealing pollutant effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, valuable for risk assessment;
- 🧬 Carriers of antibiotic resistance genes, promoting dispersal across environmental compartments within the One Health framework.
🌍 Emerging Topics
This edition will also broaden its scope to explore new and exciting research areas:
- 🌾 Interactions between environmental microbiomes and nature-based or bio-based solutions (e.g., biopesticides, biological nitrification inhibitors, etc.);
- 🏗️ Pollutant–microbiome interactions in engineered environments;
- ☀️ Impacts of climate change on pollutant–microbiome dynamics.
💡 Our Vision
We expect that the Conference will:
- ✨ Inspire new research ideas,
- 🤝 Foster international collaborations, and
- 🌟 Empower young researchers who will lead the next generation of innovation in microbial ecotoxicology.
🧭 Policy and Risk Assessment
Through dedicated round tables, the conference will also emphasize the central role of microbes in environmental risk assessment for regulated chemicals, addressing major policy challenges in this evolving field.
We look forward to welcoming you to Thessaloniki for an inspiring and fruitful scientific exchange.
Best regards,
Dr. Dimitrios G. Karpouzas, On behalf of the Organizing Committee
Upcoming Important Dates
- 1st February 2026: Open call for abstracts submission
- 30 April 2026: Deadline for abstracts submission
- 30 June 2026: Early bird registration
- 1st September 2026: Late bird registration
Conference Chair
Dr Dimitrios G. KARPOUZAS,
Professor in Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the University of Thessaly, Greece
Program
Core Sessions
12:00-13:00 - Registration - Opening
13:00-17:00 - Antimicrobial Resistance - An emerging concern with growing consequences
17:00-18:00 - Poster Session - Welcome Reception
9:00-12:30 - Microbial degradation/detoxification of pollutants and bioremediation applications
13:30-15:00 - Potential interaction of nature-based solutions (i.e. biopesticides, biological nitrification inhibitors) and natural toxins with environmental microbiomes
15:30-17:00 - Round table : What is new in pesticide regulation regarding effects on the soil microbiota ?
9:00-10:30 - Interactions of environmental microbiomes with pollutants under climate change scenarios
11:00-12:30 - Microbes, pollutants and Bioprocess Engineering
13:30-17:00 - Assessment of the impact of pollutants on microbial diversity and functioning
17:00-17:30 - Closuer & awards
Free Side Event
Thursday, October 15, 2026, Morning
Discover the First Results and Advances of the European Pharm-ERA Project (2024–2028)
The Pharm-ERA consortium, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under Horizon Europe, invites you to a special side event at the EcotoxicoMic 2026 conference. This event, freely open to EcotoxicoMic 2026 attendees, will showcase the project’s first findings and progress in addressing a critical environmental challenge: the contamination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by pharmaceuticals, antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, and pathogens.
Key Themes Covered:
- Environmental Chemistry & Analytical Methods: Advancing techniques for the detection, quantification, and fate analysis of pharmaceuticals in soil, sediment, and water.
- Environmental Risk Assessment: Integrated approaches to understand the impact of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products on biodiversity and ecosystem health.
- Antimicrobial Resistance: Investigation of resistance spread mechanisms and strategies to limit environmental dissemination.
- Modeling and Sustainable Solutions: Use of predictive models and development of solutions to protect ecosystems, aligned with the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
Why Attend?
- Network with Pharm-ERA researchers and partners.
- Explore potential synergies between your work and the project’s emerging results.
- Contribute to discussions on ecotoxicological challenges related to pharmaceutical and microbial pollution.
Practical Information:
- Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026, Morning
- Venue: Thessaloniki Concert Hall – same place as the EcotoxicoMic 2026 conference
- Registration is free but mandatory in the limit of 60 seats (see Regitration options)
Invited Speakers
Prof. Joséphine Leflaive
Department of Biology and Geosciences, University of Toulouse
Joséphine Leflaive is a Professor in Microbial Ecology,. After having considered the role of chemical interactions in shaping benthic microbial communities, she focused on the response of those communities to environmental disturbances associated with global change. Her main research objective is to identify the factors that drive the resistance and resilience properties of microbial communities exposed to various stressors, including chemical contaminants. She considers both the structural and functional resistance/resilience of the heterotrophic and phototrophic components of biofilms, mostly in microcosms experiments. She also takes into account the role of biofilms as a resource in trophic networks. Dr Leflaive has been the author of 51 papers in peer reviewed journals, and has coordinated several projects funded by national funding bodies and private partners.
Dr. Emilie Muller
Molecular genetics, genomics and microbiology - CNRS
Emilie E.L. Muller is a researcher at the French CNRS in the team “Adaptations and interactions of microbes in the Environment”in Strasbourg. She is interested in the functional ecology of microbial communities in the Anthropocene. Her research focuses on multi-scale microbial ecophysiology and the metabolism of legacy pollutants and pollutants of emerging concern, from single cells to complex communities and from laboratory models to field studies. Her work aims to elucidate how microorganisms interact and adapt in response to disturbances, with a focus in microbial dehalogenation, notably through the concept of niche breadth structuring of microbial communities.
Dr. Victoria Osorio
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, CSIC
Victoria has established expertise in the environmental fate, transformation, and effects of complex mixtures of anthropogenic organic micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and their metabolites and transformation products in aquatic systems. She currently leads a research line integrating advanced analytical chemistry with effect-based methods (EBMs), including Effect-Directed Analysis, to assess environmental quality and evaluate the risks posed by complex chemical mixtures. Her work aims to disentangle cause–effect relationships, identify key toxicants in aquatic ecosystems, and clarify their implications for environmental and human health.
Dr. Serina L. Robinson
Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)
Serina L. Robinson is a Group Leader at Eawag and will start as an Assistant Professor at ETH Zürich in April 2026. Her group’s research integrates experimental work with computational modeling to predict how enzymes transform industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals. A primary focus of her group is the interaction between biological systems and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). By leveraging machine learning and protein engineering, her group investigates how microbial enzymes can cleave persistent carbon-fluorine bonds to develop biotechnological solutions for pollutant detection and removal. Her scientific work has been recognized by an ERC Starting Grant (2025), an SNSF Ambizione Grant (2022), and the American Chemical Society’s “Rising Stars in Environmental Research” award (2024).
Dr. Uli Klümper
Institute of Hydrobiology, Dresden
Dr. Uli Klümper is a microbial ecologist. His research focuses on understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that govern the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in environmental systems. He investigates how antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements persist, transfer, and are selected within complex microbial communities, and which environmental stressors drive these dynamics. To address these questions, his group develops and applies advanced microbiological and molecular tools to quantify horizontal gene transfer and resistance gene mobility in situ. A further focus of his work is the translation of environmental AMR data into risk assessment frameworks, including the development of ecology-based approaches to derive predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) for antibiotics that minimize resistance selection in natural ecosystems.
Program
Under construction
Awards
Presentation Guidelines
All presentations must be in English.
Live presentation
To come
Flash presentation
To come