PhD opportunity: River pollutant source apportionment using water fingerprinting One Health frameworks

Chemical pollution can severely affect river health by introducing toxins (pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals like PFAS) that harm aquatic life impacting biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human health through recreational use and drinking water contamination. Even low levels of persistent chemicals have long-term negative effects, with Environment Agency reports showing no English river is in good chemical health. Immediate action is necessary to provide the evidence needed to trigger policy, technological and societal interventions.

Using a combination of chemical fingerprints, statistical modelling and geospatial data, this studentship will identify and quantify specific origins (e.g. industrial, agricultural, domestic or natural sources) of pollutants found in rivers. This studentship will deliver a One Health framework that captures the heterogeneity of multi-chemical exposure in urban river environments which is critical for the development of informed, evidence-based regulatory frameworks for public and environmental health protection.

The project will:

1.Using new Bath’s Centre of Excellence in Water-Based Early-Warning Systems Mass Spectrometry Facility (including state-of-the-art analytical separation approaches: e.g. liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography with powerful targeted and non-targeted mass spectrometry techniques: QQQ, QTOF-HRMS, MRT), undertake fingerprinting of river water samples to provide catchment level chemical identity profiles.

2. Establish spatiotemporal trends in chemical profiles across the rivers.

3. Undertake risk assessment, estimate environmental and public health burden from selected hazardous chemical groups and identify pollution hotspots for evidence-driven One Health interventions.

More information and how to apply

Written by

helena

January 13, 2026