Environmental Biotechnology Network

Panorama on PFAS…

An episode of the BBC’s Panorama programme aired on 1 Dec 2025 with the title The Truth about Forever Chemicals.  While EBNet’s PFAS WG and the EBIC Hub obviously take this issue very seriously indeed, we are not sure some of the apparent messages here were very helpful.  The programme …

Next BES webinar coming soon – and latest video now available!

The next webinar in the current series is a joint event with PhycoClub, with Presenter Dr Marin Sawa of Newcastle University and ECR Chair Dr Gabriele Frascaroli.  The webinar will take place on Fri 12 Dec 2025 at 10:30-11:30 UK:  for more details scan the QR code below, or see …

NBIC additions

Two new items from the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) in its Biofilm 2025 Week. The results of the Biofilm Create! 2025 Competition were announed   –  and are just as impressive as we have come to expect. And a new Blog Series Beyond the Biofilm has launched, spotlighting researchers driving …

JSPS Postdoc Fellowship Call for Humanities and Social Sciences

Application Deadline: 10 Dec 2025 This fellowship is an opportunity for those in our Environmental Biotechnology and Social Sciences WG (EBSS WG), and for other EBNet members with an interest in social sciences or other arts and humanities aspects. It allows researchers based outside Japan to conduct collaborative work with …

2nd IWA Conference on Non-Sewered Sanitation Systems

Abstract Deadline: 15 Dec 2025 Date: 9-12 July 2026 Venue: Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad, India Building on the success of an inaugural conference in Johannesburg in 2023, this event aims to bring together a global community of researchers, practitioners and policy experts to advance knowledge and innovation in non-sewered …

MAGqual – A tool for complex microbial communities

In a rather belated piece of dissemination, our congratulations to the authors of a paper published last year which concerns one of our recurring topics. From its inception EBNet has championed the importance of complex microbial communities for environmental protection and remediation, whether in engineered systems or the open environment.  …

UK-Ukraine Horizon Europe Initiative: project ideas available now

The next phase of the UK–Ukraine Horizon Europe collaboration initiative is now open. Following a nationwide call, Ukrainian universities have submitted project ideas designed to foster academic cooperation, strengthen research partnerships, and stimulate innovation exchange with UK higher education institutions. These ideas are a milestone in joint efforts to build …

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Assessment and Surveillance – special issue

Submission deadline: 15 Jan 2026 The journal Environments has announced a special issue on Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Assessment and Surveillance (see here for details). Topics include: Pathogen surveillance (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, emerging viruses, and antimicrobial resistance genes); Community exposure assessment for illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals, and environmental toxins; Technological innovations in sample collection, high-throughput sequencing, …

Microbial ecology in drinking water biofilms – a taster with more to come

Continuing a theme from a recent post on Microbial ecology and drinking water biofiltration, two papers below are well worth a look. They are on linked topics and are published in conference proceedings, with full papers on the way: so a thought-provoking taster for what is to come. Prof Cindy …

Horizon Europe ERA 2026 – info and online brokerage events

Dates: 11 and 17 Dec 2025, online On 11 Dec 2025 an online European Commission Info Day will present the topics in the Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (WIDERA) Work Programme 2026-2027.  Call types will include both Coordination & Support and Research & Innovation actions. On 17 …

Call for Papers – Biofilm Technologies for Circular and Sustainable Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery

Deadline: 26 Aug 2026 Biofilm technologies are evolving from classical wastewater treatment tools into platform processes for resource recovery, waste valorisation, and circular bioeconomy applications. Once viewed as passive systems, biofilms are now being designed to recover nutrients, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)-derived biopolymers, and other valuable resources from complex effluents. …

Better Water 4All – PFAS Webinar

Webinar date: Mon 1 Dec 2025, 12:30-13:15 UK The EPSRC-funded Better Water 4All Network+ is hosting its first webinar on Engineering for the challenges of Forever Chemicals (PFAS) in drinking water. The speaker is Dr Yanyan Zhang who leads the Analysis and Degradation Mechanism of Emerging Contaminants Laboratory in Westlake …

The Glamour Factor?

A recent paper by the EBNet team on What is Environmental Biotechnology? notes that the discipline is widely seen as less glamorous than synthetic biology or industrial biotech, making it harder to attract staff and funding. Finding evidence for this is quite difficult, and what there is tends to be …

IBioIC Conference 2026 – Early Bird registration open

For info and registration details see HERE. The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) is holding its 12th Annual Conference in Glasgow on 10-11 March 2026, in conjunction with the BioBased Industries Association (BBIA). The theme of this year’s conference is BioSolutions for Tomorrow’s World. Sessions will explore topics from bio-similars …