Behaviour of Pesticides in Air, Soil and Water

Fatima AlZahra’a Alatraktchi is a research leader, public speaker, and entrepreneur, known for her work in nanotechnology and bacteria. She holds a PhD from the Technical University of Denmark and is currently an associate professor and lecturer at the Department of Science and Environment at Roskilde University.   As a result of her research and academic track record, Fatima has received a number of prestigious awards, including the Lundbeck Foundation Talent Prize, the L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Science and  Inspire Them Young Award by Albright. In 2024, she was named by the Danish magazine Berlingske as one of the 100 greatest talents in Denmark.   In addition to her research, Fatima is a critically acclaimed author. She began writing as a teenager and has won awards for her authorship.   In 2019, Forbes named her one of Europe’s “30 Under 30” in science and healthcare. Her TED Talk has been viewed by more than 2 million people worldwide.

Gertie Arts holds a PhD in natural sciences and her affiliation is Wageningen University and Research, team environmental risk assessment (from 1 April 2026 on as a guest researcher). She is experienced in ecological and ecotoxicological studies and risk assessment for organic and other contaminants, especially risk assessment for aquatic macrophytes, plants and low-concern active substances as well as plant ecology and ecotoxicology.

Liesa Brosens has been working as an R&D Hydro‑Informatician at VITO since October 2022. She specializes in digital water systems, hydrological modelling and geo-environmental data analysis with a particular focus on water quality and pesticide occurrence and transport. Liesa holds a PhD in Physical Geography from KU Leuven (BE), where she investigated human–environment interactions and erosion processes in Madagascar.

Joachim Dayteg has been Deputy Head of the Environmental Fate and Behaviour Unit at the Institute for Plant Protection Products, AGES Vienna, since 2018. He joined AGES in 2008 as a E-Fate risk assessor for active substances and plant protection products and is also the initiator and key driver of harmonisation efforts in the Central Zone, promoting consistent approaches and best practices across member states.

Gabriella Carlotta Fait holds a degree in Agricultural Sciences and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Chemistry, specializing in the environmental fate and behaviour of pesticides. Her expertise spans laboratory analysis, field monitoring, and modelling studies on pesticides, nitrates, and heavy metals. Since joining the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2016, she has gained experience in environmental exposure and risk assessment methodologies, contributing to EU peer review process of risk assessments of active substances used in plant protection products. Currently, she coordinates the working group responsible for reviewing the guidance document on terrestrial ecotoxicology and developing new guidance to assess potential indirect effects on biodiversity through trophic interactions in agro-environmental settings.

Emilie Farama has been the Deputy Head of the Ecotoxicology and E-Fate Risk Assessment Unit for Pesticides and Fertilisers at ANSES since 2018. She joined ANSES in 2006 as an Environmental Fate and Behaviour Risk Assessor for active substances and plant protection products.

Eugene Georgiades is a Principal Adviser – Hazardous Substances at the New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority. Eugene completed his PhD in marine ecotoxicology in 2004 at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. After a post-doc in Canada, he joined the New Zealand government and has worked on a variety of environmental risk assessments ranging from hazardous substances (e.g., pesticides and veterinary medicines) to aquatic biosecurity (e.g., vessel biofouling, ballast water, aquaculture, ornamental fish). Eugene’s current role is to ensure that EPA staff are providing sound, science-based risk assessments.

Rena Isemer is an Ecotoxicology Expert for Non-Target Terrestrial Plants and Science Fellow at the Research and Development Division of Bayer Crop Science in Germany. She leads a task force within EUPAF, is a member of the Pesticide Application Team at AAB and the CropLife Europe Plants ad-hoc team and leads the SETAC Plants IG. Rena will present on behalf of a team of experts from Crop Life Europe.

Gunnar Kahl studied Geoecology followed by a research position in a collaboration of universities in Germany and Thailand. After having worked in the modelling group of BASF he joined knoell Germany as an environmental fate modeller. In 2012 he was appointed to become the Managing Director of the knoell subsidiary in Thailand. Since 2020 he has been working as a Senior Expert Environmental Fate and Modelling at knoell Germany in Hamburg.

Neil Mackay is an Environmental Fate Modelling specialist in FMC Agricultural Solutions. He is active in strategic product development and regulatory exposure and risk assessment activities. His previous work experience includes employment as a Senior Research Scientist in the Environment Safety Assessment Group of DuPont Crop Protection and as a consultant to both industry and government bodies, primarily in Europe.

Sebastian Multsch is a regulatory scientist in environmental exposure modelling at BASF, specializing in the development and application of geospatial and data‑driven digital solutions for pesticide risk assessment. He has more than 15 years of international experience spanning industry and research, addressing challenges in the management of agro‑ecosystems and regulatory decision‑making. He holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Sciences and a PhD in Natural Sciences from Justus Liebig University Giessen, both with a strong focus on applying geoinformation systems for spatial modelling and data analysis.

Jérémy Pinte is a policy officer for fertilising products and chemicals at the European Commission, DG GROW. He is an agricultural engineer with a focus on chemical safety, food safety and plant protection. He previously worked in France as a regulatory officer and then as a risk assessment coordinator for pesticides, fertilising products and invertebrate biocontrol agents.

Werner Pol is currently a Team Manager Expertise Fate and Ecotoxicology Plant Protection at the Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb) in Ede, The Netherlands. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the environmental fate and exposure assessment of substances and plant protection products from previous roles at Ctgb and holds a M.Sc and B.Sc in environmental science.

Anton Poot is a Geochemist and Environmental Scientist and has been working in the field of modelling and monitoring groundwater at both governmental and contract research organisations. He has been employed as Environmental Risk Assesssor at Ctgb for the past 14 years. As a representative from Ctgb, Anton was member of the SETAC EMAG-Pest working group on groundwater monitoring and chair of the current SETAC Spatial Distributed Leaching Modelling working group.

Annette Elisabeth Rosenbom is a Chief Consultant at Rambøll with 25 years’ experience as a scientist focusing on introducing new field monitoring techniques and new numerical modelling concepts to measure and mathematically estimate preferential flow and solute transport (pesticides, nitrate, PFAS….) through fractured soil/rock. For 6,5 years she has been the project leader of the Danish Pesticide Leaching Assessment Programme and hereby providing scientific guidance to the regulation of pesticides in Denmark based on high-quality agricultural-field-scale monitoring data. This focus has led her to be a member of the SETAC Environmental Monitoring Advisory Group of Pesticides - Subgroup Ground Water (SETAC EMAG-Pest GW), the “Unsaturated Zone Interest Group” under USGS, the scientific committee of the conference “Pesticide Behaviour in Soils, Water and Air” (York, England; both in 2017 and 2021), scientific committee of 14th IUPAC (2019) and the Editorial Advisory Board of the ACS journal Agricultural Science and Technology plus hosting “9th European Modelling Workshop” (2019).

Dieter Schäfer has a professional background in environmental sciences and 25 years of experience in the environmental fate and exposure assessment of pesticides. He was the Head of the E-fate Expert Group and the Environmental Exposure Modelling Team at Bayer Crop Science Division in Monheim/Germany and is currently the Head of Environmental Exposure leading a team of experimental, modelling and assessment experts.