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With more than €3 million secured and a success rate of 27%, IDAEA-CSIC has strengthened its participation in recent years
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The funded projects cover a wide range of topics, from the impact of environmental chemistry on human health to hydrogeology
In 2026, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) celebrate 30 years since their launch. Named after the Polish-French scientist Marie Curie, a pioneer in the study of radioactivity and a two-time Nobel Prize winner, these actions have become one of Europe’s leading programmes supporting research. Since their creation, the MSCA have funded more than 150,000 researchers at all stages of their careers, promoting international mobility, cross-sector collaboration and scientific excellence across Europe. Spain, together with the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, consistently ranks among the top-performing countries in MSCA calls.
The Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC) has participated competitively in these calls, with a sustained increase in its involvement, leadership and success rate in recent years. Since 2020, IDAEA has secured 13 MSCA projects out of 50 submitted proposals, 11 of them coordinated by the institute itself. This represents a success rate of nearly 27%, above the European average, and more than €3 million in funding secured. Given the highly competitive nature of the MSCA, these figures reflect the high quality of the institute’s proposals.
Beyond the numbers, the MSCA have enabled IDAEA to attract international talent and strengthen strategic research lines. The funded projects span a broad range of topics, largely focused on the environmental chemistry of anthropogenic pollution. Some projects addressed improvements in the monitoring and environmental risk assessment of pharmaceutical compounds, the study of the exposome associated with brain tumours, and the use of omics sciences in plants exposed to pollution. Other awarded topics fall within the field of hydrogeology, including research on water and solute transport in porous media and the use of geothermal energy for groundwater remediation.
The MSCA grants have involved researchers from different groups across the institute, reflecting their interdisciplinary nature. In total, 10 researchers have been hosted at IDAEA under the supervision of 9 principal investigators, leading projects in diverse areas of environmental science. This participation strengthens the institute’s ability to attract talent and develop research of excellence.
Three cutting-edge projects to investigate environmental challenges
Recently, IDAEA secured funding for three new projects under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, addressing current challenges related to human health, environmental health and renewable energies.
The selected researchers will join the institute in the coming months to begin these projects.
semiQ2: quantifying emerging contaminants in human samples
Emerging contaminants, such as industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals and so-called “forever chemicals”, are increasingly present both in the environment and in the human body. However, detecting them is not enough: it is essential to quantify their levels in order to assess their impact on health.
The semiQ2 project, led by researcher Varvara Nikolopoulou, aims to develop and validate a new quantitative non-target analysis (q-NTA) approach applied to human biological samples. This methodology will make it possible to estimate compound concentrations even when no reference standards are available, thereby improving data interpretation and risk assessment.
The project is supervised by IDAEA researcher Miren López de Alda, an expert in emerging contaminants.
“I chose IDAEA-CSIC as my MSCA project’s host institution because of its recognised excellence in environmental science research within the international community. The institute’s work on method development for emerging contaminants in diverse sample matrices, as well as its innovative approaches to define environmental fate of these compounds, are very appealing to me”, explains Varvara Nikolopoulou.
FEMME: the role of the placenta in fetal chemical exposure
Chemical exposures during pregnancy are a major global health concern, as even very low concentrations can disrupt fetal development and increase long-term disease risk.
Several recent studies have attempted to characterise the prenatal chemical exposome – i.e., all of the chemicals to which a fetus is exposed during development. These studies have identified hundreds of environmental chemicals to which the fetus may potentially be exposed. However, they have largely overlooked the role of the placenta.
Far from being a passive barrier, the placenta is a metabolically active organ capable of transforming chemical compounds into metabolites that may be less, equally or even more toxic. In addition, these exposures may alter placental function, with still poorly understood consequences for fetal development.
The FEMME project (Fetal Exposomics Modulated by Placental Metabolism), led by scientist Anya Katherine Sherman, seeks to unravel the role of placental metabolism in shaping the fetal exposome and its impact on prenatal health.
“I came to IDAEA because I wanted to focus on understanding how these environmental pollutants shape human health. My PI at IDAEA, Montse Marquès, is a leading expert on early-life exposomics, and has expertise complementary to mine, including human biomonitoring, work with cohort studies, and epidemiological modelling”, highlights Anya Sherman.
Placental sampling to characterise the fetal exposome. | Anya Sherman
COMPRESS: subsurface gas dynamics with implications for renewable energy
The movement of pressurised gases through porous materials plays a central role in many natural and industrial processes, from volcanic degassing to underground hydrogen storage and even small-scale membrane fuel cells.
In these systems, the gas must displace a liquid within complex pore networks. The dynamics of this gas-liquid interface are controlled by several physical factors, including capillary forces, viscosity and gas compressibility.
Although some of these processes have been widely studied, the role of gas compressibility remains poorly understood.
The COMPRESS project, led by researcher Alejandro Visentini, aims to develop a new multiscale predictive framework that explicitly integrates the effects of gas compression into the theory of multiphase flow in porous media. This will improve understanding of these processes and contribute to the design of energy technologies such as geological hydrogen storage.
“I chose IDAEA as the European host institution because of its strong expertise in transport processes in porous and disordered media, its connection to environmental and subsurface applications, and the opportunity to work closely with Professor Marco Dentz in a highly stimulating research environment”, concludes Alejandro Visentini.
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