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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
Session 1: Antimicrobial Resistance - An emerging concern with growing consequences
Chairs : Sotirios Vasileiadis, Lise Barthelmebs, Konstantinos Kormas, Francesca Mapelli, Ed Topp
Topics:
- Mechanisms of AMR transferability in natural and engineered environments
- Ecology and evolution/selection pressure for AMR traits
- Biodegradation of antibiotics as resistance mechanism
- Methodological advances in AMR environmental research
- One health and environmental microbiomes
Session 2: Assessment of the impact of pollutants on microbial diversity and functioning
Chairs : Chloe Bonnineau, Michael Thomas Marx, Stefan Geisen, Natalia Corcoll, Christopher Sweeney
Topics :
- Effects of pollutants on microbial functioning in soil and water ecosystems
- Interactive effects of pollutants on microbial communities
- Methodological advances in assessing effects on environmental microbial communities
- Microbial communities and risk assessment - new regulatory approaches
- Microbial indicators for use in risk assessment of biocides
- Microbial indicators and biosensors for the detection of environmental pollutants
- Soil monitoring law in EU and soil microbiota
- Impact of pollutants on holobionts - cascading effects along the food web
Session 3: Potential interaction of nature-based solutions (i.e. biopesticides, biological nitrification inhibitors) and natural toxins with environmental microbiomes
Chairs : Evangelia Papadopoulou, Chrysoula Tassou, Kristian Brandt, Edoardo Puglisi
Topics:
- Effects of microbial pesticides or other novel biopesticides (e.g. peptides, ds-RNA) on environmental microbiome
- Response of environmental microbiomes to natural toxins (i.e. plant-derived nitrification inhibitors, allelopathic compounds etc) - acclimation for biodegradation or toxicity
- Regulatory aspects for novel microbiome solutions in modern agriculture (i.e. microbial pesticides, phages, protists)
- Microbial toxins in the environment and consequences for environmental and human health and safety
- Aquatic microbial toxins and interaction with natural microbial communities in freshwater and marine ecosystems
Session 4: Microbial degradation/detoxification of pollutants and bioremediation applications
Chairs : Stephane Vuillemier, Ines Petric, Evangelos Topakas, Katharine Thompson
Topics:
- Synthetic microbial communities for optimized biodegradation of environmental contaminants
- Engineered microbes for advanced environmental decontamination - regulatory aspects
- Microbial degradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants in natural and engineered environments
- Advanced methodologies to study pollutants transformation in environmental settings
- The role of the uncultivated majority in the degradation of organic pollutants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
- Methodological advances in the microbial degradation/detoxification of environmental pollutants
Session 5: Interactions of environmental microbiomes with pollutants under climate change scenarios
Chairs : Michalis Omirou, Mechthild Scmitt-Jansen, Savvas Genitsaris
Topics:
- Microbial degradation of pollutants in natural ecosystems under climate change
- Effects of pollutants on natural microbiome under climate change scenarios
- Climate change mitigation by microbiome regulation
Session 6: Microbiota - pollutants interactions in engineered environmental settings
Chairs : Chrysanthi Pateraki, Spyridos Ntougias, Panagiotis Kougias
Topics:
- Optimization of biodegradation proceses in engineered environmental setting
- Toxicity of pollutants on microbial processes in engineered environmental settings
Round table : What is new in pesticide regulation regarding effects on the soil microbiota ?
Chairs : Dimitrios Karpouzas, Christopher Sweeney, Fabrice Martin-Laurent,
Invited Speakers
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Syngenta (England)
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Program
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Awards
Presentation Guidelines
All presentations must be in English.
Live presentation
To come
Flash presentation
To come