Research team
Expertise
Dr. Francesca Cappelli completed her PhD in Environmental Science at the Italian Water Research Institute of the National Research Council (IRSA-CNR) in May 2022, supervised by Dr. Stefano Polesello. The doctoral thesis focused on the study of emerging pollutants in the water cycle through advanced screening methods relied on liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). In addition to a quantitative target approach, the aim of the project was to explore innovative suspect and non-target screening analysis as possible monitoring approach for water quality control, with particular interest in pharmaceuticals and PFASs in different aqueous matrices (e.g., wastewater, groundwater, surface water). One of the interesting finding of her previous research concerns the identification of pharmaceuticals used to treat COVID-19 in wastewater and river samples after a suspect screening, and the study of the environmental impact resulting from the release of these compounds – never so widely used in the population before the pandemic – into the aquatic environment. Now, she is a post-doc researcher at the Toxicological Centre at University of Antwerp with a particular focus on the study of PFASs by applying suspect and non-target approaches in environmental and human samples.