Blog
A Chapter in Southern France: My Secondment at INRAE
During my PhD, I had the incredible opportunity to complete a secondment at INRAE in Narbonne, an experience that has left a lasting impact on me both professionally and personally. From a scientific perspective, this secondment was an intense and rewarding learning journey. I significantly deepened my practical analytical skills and expanded my knowledge in environmental research. Working alongside colleagues from diverse scientific backgrounds allowed me to view my research through new lenses and engage in valuable interdisciplinary discussions that both challenged and inspired me. Beyond the lab, the setting itself played
Finding Perspective in Patterns: Reflections from the Scottish Environmental & Analytical Chemistry Symposium
Conferences have a way of pulling you out of your own data and reminding you where your work fits in the bigger picture. I recently attended the 14th Scottish Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Symposium, hosted at the University of Aberdeen, where I presented a poster on my PhD research and spent a day immersed in discussions spanning environmental monitoring, analytical innovation, and applied chemistry. My poster focused on the development of array-based fluorescent sensing strategies for detecting micropollutants and assessing potential ecotoxicity in treated sewage sludge. Sludge is increasingly viewed
Encouraging Young Minds: Nitin Kumar Engages Pupils in Chemistry at Paracetamol Workshops
On 2 December 2025, University of Glasgow doctoral researcher Nitin Kumar (DC11) participated in a series of Paracetamol-themed laboratory workshops for a group of pupils who travelled from Dumfries. Aimed at providing hands-on experience in chemistry, the sessions introduced students to practical aspects of pharmaceutical science while offering a glimpse into life as a researcher. The workshops were divided into two parts. In the first half, Kumar and a couple of colleagues delivered a short talk about their academic journeys and research projects, sharing insights into the day-to-day work of
From Signals to Insights: Advancing My PhD Work on Sludge Sensing
Turning Sludge into a Story Sewage sludge might not sound glamorous, but it tells a fascinating chemical story.Rich in nutrients yet carrying micropollutants, from pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds to PFASs and industrial chemicals,it presents a unique challenge: how can we safely reuse it while monitoring contaminants effectively? A Cross-Reactive Sensor Array Our solution is a cross-reactive sensor array made of structurally diverse hosts: cucurbit[8]uril, cucurbit[7]uril, γ-cyclodextrin, hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin, sulfocalix[4]arene, and human serum albumin. Paired with fluorescent dyes, this system responds to host-guest interactions. Using fluorescence indicator displacement assays (FIDAs), we’ve
My secondment at TU Delft
This is my first day back at my lab. It feels as if I lived a whole, and fully different, life in the last two months. Being home means that I now have to look back at everything and try to summarize it. I have spent two months at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands (the country fighting the seas to stay afloat), completing my secondment. My INCLUE colleague Andrea, welcomed me in an amazing manner, as did the entire university. I learned, I discussed, I
My secondment at the University of Oxford
It’s been just shy of a month since I came back from my secondment in Oxford, and I am still processing this amazing experience. I had the pleasure and utter honour of working in James Kwan’s lab, one of the most advanced and renowned groups in sonochemistry. There, I had the chance to work with their custom SonoCyl ultrasound reactors, optimized for pollutant degradation as well as for H₂ production, among other goals. With these reactors, I achieved very promising degradation levels for PFAS, the focus of my project. I
My Secondment in France: Science, Culture, and Dreams Fulfilled
When I landed in France for my two-month secondment at WatchFrog, I thought I was simply stepping into a new lab, another phase of my PhD. But life, as it often does, surprised me. These weeks became much more than science—they became a journey of rediscovery, resilience, friendship, and fulfilling long-held dreams. In the lab, I found myself reconnecting with an old love. After years devoted to chemical and biological treatments, it felt like coming home to dive again into biology, biochemistry, and toxicology. At WatchFrog, I learned about ecotoxic
ASTEE conference 2025 in Toulouse – A Deep Dive into Water Innovation and Violets
In June this year, I had the exciting opportunity to participate in the ASTEE (Association Scientifique et Technique pour l’Eau et l’Environnement) annual conference in Toulouse—a gathering focused entirely on water, in all its complexity and importance. My presentation, “Évaluation de l’efficacité du traitement des boues par mesure des effets biologiques”, centered on evaluating the efficiency of sludge treatment using bioassays. Presenting this work in French to a room full of experts was both challenging and incredibly rewarding. It was a great way to test the progress of my language
Communicating LCA Beyond the Lab: My Seminar Presentation Experience at KU Leuven
Pursuing a PhD is a journey filled with extremes—enriching, demanding, overwhelming, and rewarding—sometimes all in ONE single day! In late June 2025, shortly after passing my 9-month progress meeting, I had the opportunity to present my research at the PETLab seminar, a monthly session at KU Leuven’s De Nayer campus that brings together professors, postdocs, and PhD researchers—mainly from chemical engineering, but open to researchers from all backgrounds. For PhD candidates like me, communicating research to an audience beyond supervisors and peers is a crucial skill, and I
First Steps, Big Ideas: Presenting My PhD Work at the FMA Section Talks
Time truly flies when you’re immersed in exciting science. I recently had the opportunity to give my first-ever presentation as a PhD student, and I couldn’t have asked for a more encouraging setting than the Functional Molecular Assembly (FMA) section talks, an annual internal event at the University of Glasgow that brings together researchers working on advanced functional materials and molecular systems. As a doctoral candidate (DC11) in the INCLUE project, my research in the Peveler Group focuses on developing holistic sensing strategies for pollutants and ecotoxicity in treated sludge.
Between Posters and Cliffs: Notes from a PhD’s First Conference
As I write my first blog post, I’m sitting at the airport, waiting to board my flight back to Belgium after an intense and inspiring week. At the end of May, I had the opportunity to attend The 5th International Conference on Biogas Microbiology (ICBM5) in Galway, Ireland – my very first scientific conference as a PhD researcher. I proudly represented the INCLUE project by exhibiting my first doctoral research poster, titled “Stimulation of Diuron anaerobic biodegradation: insights from semi-continuous adaptation”. It showcased some early findings from the first, major
SETAC conference Vienna, Austria 2025 – Science, Friends, and a Touch of Viennese Magic
This May, I had the opportunity to attend the SETAC Europe conference in Vienna—a week that blended exciting scientific exchange with memorable social moments and a touch of travel bliss. I presented my research titled “Elucidating the Mode of Action of Priority Pollutants on the Thyroid Axis by Combining Two Eleuthero-embryonic Bioassays”, and it was both an exciting and rewarding experience to share and discuss my work with an engaged, expert audience. At the conference, I also met with Andrea (DC4) who presented his poster, so it was exciting sharing
A Chapter in Southern France: My Secondment at INRAE
During my PhD, I had the incredible opportunity to complete a secondment at INRAE in Narbonne, an experience that has left a lasting impact on me both professionally and personally. From a scientific perspective, this secondment was an intense and rewarding learning journey. I significantly deepened my practical analytical skills and expanded my knowledge in environmental research. Working alongside colleagues from diverse scientific backgrounds allowed me to view my research through new lenses and engage in valuable interdisciplinary discussions that both challenged and inspired me. Beyond the lab, the setting itself played
Finding Perspective in Patterns: Reflections from the Scottish Environmental & Analytical Chemistry Symposium
Conferences have a way of pulling you out of your own data and reminding you where your work fits in the bigger picture. I recently attended the 14th Scottish Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Symposium, hosted at the University of Aberdeen, where I presented a poster on my PhD research and spent a day immersed in discussions spanning environmental monitoring, analytical innovation, and applied chemistry. My poster focused on the development of array-based fluorescent sensing strategies for detecting micropollutants and assessing potential ecotoxicity in treated sewage sludge. Sludge is increasingly viewed
Encouraging Young Minds: Nitin Kumar Engages Pupils in Chemistry at Paracetamol Workshops
On 2 December 2025, University of Glasgow doctoral researcher Nitin Kumar (DC11) participated in a series of Paracetamol-themed laboratory workshops for a group of pupils who travelled from Dumfries. Aimed at providing hands-on experience in chemistry, the sessions introduced students to practical aspects of pharmaceutical science while offering a glimpse into life as a researcher. The workshops were divided into two parts. In the first half, Kumar and a couple of colleagues delivered a short talk about their academic journeys and research projects, sharing insights into the day-to-day work of
From Signals to Insights: Advancing My PhD Work on Sludge Sensing
Turning Sludge into a Story Sewage sludge might not sound glamorous, but it tells a fascinating chemical story.Rich in nutrients yet carrying micropollutants, from pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds to PFASs and industrial chemicals,it presents a unique challenge: how can we safely reuse it while monitoring contaminants effectively? A Cross-Reactive Sensor Array Our solution is a cross-reactive sensor array made of structurally diverse hosts: cucurbit[8]uril, cucurbit[7]uril, γ-cyclodextrin, hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin, sulfocalix[4]arene, and human serum albumin. Paired with fluorescent dyes, this system responds to host-guest interactions. Using fluorescence indicator displacement assays (FIDAs), we’ve
My secondment at TU Delft
This is my first day back at my lab. It feels as if I lived a whole, and fully different, life in the last two months. Being home means that I now have to look back at everything and try to summarize it. I have spent two months at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands (the country fighting the seas to stay afloat), completing my secondment. My INCLUE colleague Andrea, welcomed me in an amazing manner, as did the entire university. I learned, I discussed, I
My secondment at the University of Oxford
It’s been just shy of a month since I came back from my secondment in Oxford, and I am still processing this amazing experience. I had the pleasure and utter honour of working in James Kwan’s lab, one of the most advanced and renowned groups in sonochemistry. There, I had the chance to work with their custom SonoCyl ultrasound reactors, optimized for pollutant degradation as well as for H₂ production, among other goals. With these reactors, I achieved very promising degradation levels for PFAS, the focus of my project. I