Internship proposal at Leesu: Study of the (eco)toxicological risk of an emerging pharmaceutical pollutant

Daniel Thevenot — 2023-10-05T16:30:00Z

Internship proposal at Leesu: Study of the (eco)toxicological risk of an emerging pharmaceutical pollutant and its degradation products in a Drosophila model

Place of work: UPEC - MSE building, 61 Av. du Général de Gaulle, 94000 Créteil and occasionally at IUT Sénart Fontainebleau, 240 rue de la motte 77550 Moissy Cramayel, France

Type of contract: internship

Duration: 6 months from January 2024

Background

Many pharmaceutical compounds end up in the environment as a result of incomplete elimination by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Some compounds are sometimes present in significant concentrations, posing a risk to the aquatic environment. Among these compounds, furosemide, a diuretic, is very frequently detected in surface water, and significant concentrations are found downstream of WWTPs and hospitals. Several degradation products of furosemide have been identified: saluamine and furfural, and the recently discovered furosemide pyridinium (PoF). These compounds have greater toxicity than furosemide on various organisms, and our recent studies show that PoF is found in the urine of patients treated with furosemide, and is capable of inducing biological markers characteristic of Parkinson's disease at high doses in animal models. In addition, our results show that it is present and quantifiable at different levels of the wastewater network, in the Seine and in effluent from nursing homes.

Objectives

The aim of the internship is to characterise the ecotoxicological impact of PoF alone or in a cocktail with saluamine and furosemide at environmental concentrations in a terrestrial organism model representative of pollinating insects, Drosophila melanogaster, (Canton-S wild strain). The impact of ranges of environmental concentrations of PoF and saluamine will be assessed on mortality and behaviour in the adult stage. The neurotoxicological impact of these molecules will be assessed by observing the position of the wings (voluntary movement) and climbing test. Expression of genes involved in neurotoxicity will be quantified by RT-qPCR.

Candidate's profile

Master 1 degree in Toxicology, Environment, Health (essential knowledge of ecotoxicology, biochemistry, statistical analysis and programming in R). Experience with the Drosophila model will be a plus. Good interpersonal, organisational and oral/written communication skills (French and English) are essential, as is the ability to work independently.

CVs, covering letter, Bachelor's and Master 1's grades and contact details of persons who can provide a recommendation should be sent to:

Internship proposal (PDF file)

Application deadline: October 25th, 2023

6 months internship in 2020 on WaterOmics project

Daniel Thevenot — 2019-12-17T11:42:49Z

6 months internship (master's student): Development of processing methods of high resolution mass spectrometry data for the characterization of urban waters

Scientific background

Numerous compounds of emerging concern (CECs) are found in urban waters but their fate in wastewater treatment plant and in the environment are still scarcely known. The analysis of CECs is typically done by targeting specific molecules but the development of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) enables non-target screening analysis and the identification of unknown molecules. Current methods for non-target screening of CECs and the identification of unknown molecules are time-consuming and require several steps and extended check before confirmation. Proprietary softwares are limited for this type of applications and open source softwares and algorithms are currently under development. Statistical approaches and global characterization methods can be developed to track the pollutants in urban waters.

Framework of the project

This internship will be a part of the WaterOmics project (2017-2021), financed by the National Agency for Research (ANR, France). This project, entitled “Tracking organic micropollutants in urban waters by high-resolution mass spectrometry: omics approach, fingerprint and indexes” is divided in three tasks:

Developing analytical methods from the extraction to the analysis of urban waters by HRMS
Developing data treatment methods for the characterization of pollutants
Application of the developed methods to urban waters
The project uses the analytical instruments of the Prammics platform, particularly liquid chromatography coupled to HRMS (Waters Vion – UPLC-IMS-QTOF). A PhD thesis is currently ongoing (Nina Huynh).

Objectives of the internship

The internship will be part of task 2 (development of the data treatment tools) and will be in close collaboration with the PhD student working on the project. The objectives are to:

Carry on the development of an application (R/Shiny) for the processing of data from HRMS
Use open-source softwares and packages (e.g., xcms, PatRoon) and adapt the results to the project needs (especially extract generated raw formulas).
Develop data analysis methods and graphic methods for the characterization of pollutants based on existing methods (e.g. mass defect, Van Krevelen diagrams…)

Profile required

Chemometrics, bioinformatics or programming background:

Knowledge in statistics and associated softwares (e.g. R)
Skills in programming and ease with the use of various programming languages (e.g. R, python)
Ease in writing reports

Type of internship

Start: march/april 2020
Duration: 5-6 months
Send CV and letter of application to Julien Le Roux and Nina Huynh
Internship fee: 450 € / month
Location: Université Paris-Est Créteil, Laboratoire eau, environnement, et systèmes urbains (LEESU), 61 avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94010 CRETEIL Cédex, France

Project leaders : Julien Le Roux and Régis Moilleron

Laboratoire Eau Environnement et Systèmes Urbains (Leesu)

Internship proposal at Leesu: Study of the (eco)toxicological risk of an emerging pharmaceutical pollutant