Name of institution: Medical University of Gdansk

Department: Department of Food Sciences

Address: Av. Gen. J. Haller 107, 80-416 Gdansk, Poland

Web site: http://www.amg.gda.pl/

Contact person:

Piotr SZEFER

Professor

phone: +58-349 31 10

fax: +58-349 31 10

e-mail pszef@farmacja.amg.gda.pl

Keywords: toxic elements, ecotoxicology, marine flora and fauna, seafood, speciation analysis, food quality, chemometrics.

Research profile:

· Marine biogeochemistry - understanding the behavior of major and minor elements, especially metallic pollutants, in the marine ecosystems.

· Distribution and origin of major and minor elements in marine sediments.

· Transport of major and minor elements along the successive trophic levels of the marine biosphere.

· Affinity of metallic pollutants to benthal organisms with respect to adjacent sediments.

· Spatial and seasonal distribution as well as speciation and origin of selected elements in different biogeographic areas of the marine ecosystems.

· Chemometrical interpretation of the concentration data.

A great attention is paid to the coastal ecosystems and anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment.

Domains of applications:

· The distribution, bioavailability, biomagnification, discrimination, fate and sources of chemical pollutants (toxic metals and metalloids) in particular compartments (deposits, biota) of the marine environment.

· Particular components of the Baltic ecosystem as potential monitors of pollutants.

· Estimates of health risks to man in respect to some toxic metals in fish and seafood.

· Speciation analysis of Hg and other elements in marine organisms and food.