Short Description
The research project ‘EU-Wastewater Integrated Surveillance for Public Health (EU-WISH)’ (https://www.eu-wish.eu/) has a duration of 36 months (2023-2026) and is a Joint Action funded by the European EU4Health programme with a total budget of €14,871,734. EU-WISH consists of a consortium of 26 countries and 61 participants at a European level, including academic institutions, public health authorities and other interested parties in the field of wastewater surveillance. The coordinator of the Cyprus consortium is the Medical and Public Health Services of the Ministry of Health. The University of Cyprus participates as an affiliated entity of the Ministry of Health, through the Nireas-International Water Research Center and the ‘KIOS’ Research and Innovation Center of Excellence, under the supervision of Dr. Despo Fatta-Kassinos, head of the Gaia-Laboratory of Environmental and Engineered Water Processes & Systems. Other affiliated entities of the Cyprus consortium are the Water
Development Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, and the Department of Molecular Virology of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.
The goal of this project is the improvement, and the strengthening of the EU member states national capacity for wastewater public health surveillance, through the exchange of knowledge and best practices, based on available scientific evidence. This project will set the basis for the enhancement of the capacity of the EU for preparedness and rapid response to potential threats towards public health.
Main objectives and outcomes
The development and reinforcement of the sustainability of national wastewater surveillance programs, and the improvement of cooperation mechanisms between the EC and its member states.
The development of harmonized procedures and protocols for wastewater surveillance.
The collection and evaluation of relevant knowledge and identification of research gaps in wastewater surveillance.
Prioritization of microorganisms and other markers of concern relevant to wastewater surveillance, at a European and international level.
The support and institutionalization of wastewater surveillance in Europe and beyond.
Organization of training and information events, seminars and conferences for education of the project Consortium and other interested parties in different aspects of wastewater surveillance, including sampling and transport methodologies, analytical methods for determination of the presence of priority microorganisms and other markers of concern i.e., illicit drugs, and next generation and whole genome sequencing approaches.
Despo Fatta-Kassinos is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Cyprus. She served as the founding director of Nireas International Water Research Center from 2010 until 2022. She holds a Diploma and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. Since 2003, she has attracted ca. 14.5 million € in funding as project coordinator/principal investigator. She is a member of the (8-member) Independent Expert Advisory Committee (IEAC) of the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Solving Antimicrobial Resistance in Agribusiness, Food, and Environments (SAAFE) of Australia and a member of the International Scientific Committee of OneWater – Eau Bien Commun, which is the National Research and Innovation Funding Programme for Water in France. She is the Chair of the Advisory Board of the African Center of Excellence in Water and Environment Research in Nigeria, and a member of the advisory boards of various water research centers in Europe. She is a founding member of the International Ph.D. School on Advanced Oxidation Processes and member of its Scientific and Management Committee. She has also served as the Chair of the Scientific and Technological Advisory Board of the European JPI 'Water Challenges for a Changing World' (2015–2019). She is a Highly Cited Researcher since 2018 (ranked in the top 1% by citations) and has published more than 194 journal papers. She is Executive Editor of the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, and Editor of Water Research, Elsevier. Among other prizes, in 2012 she received the distinguished national research award by the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus, while in 2022 the Noack Laboratorien Outstanding Science Career Award by The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). In 2022 she was elected as a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Europe Council. In 2024, she became the first female scientist from Cyprus elected to the Academy of Europe, in the Class of Exact Sciences, in the Section of Engineering.
