Monika Juergens

Brief CV

I studied "Technischer Umweltschutz" (approximately: environmental science and engineering) at the Technische Universität in Berlin/Germany and have worked at CEH since beginning of 1999.

Research interests

Since 1997, I have been working on endocrine disrupters (i.e. chemicals which mimic hormones) in the environment. I have been looking at the fate of these disrupters and other chemicals during sewage treatment and in the receiving rivers and their effects on fish.

In order to facilitate the monitoring of chemicals in rivers I am involved in setting up a National Fish Tissue Archive, the idea being that tissue samples are collected on a annual basis and stored as a resource for retrospective monitoring. For example, if a chemical becomes a concern in the future, the stored samples will then allow us to compare past and present concentrations of this compound even if no one measured it at the time.

Further strands of my current research relate to understanding the rise and fall of algae populations in rivers, particularly the Thames, and the potential environmental fate and impact of engineered metal nanoparticles.

Selected publications

See also the NERC Open Research Archive and http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-2225-2008

Johnson, A.C., Bowes, M.J., Crossley, A., Jarvie, H.P., Jurkschat, K., Jürgens, M.D., Lawlor, A.J., Park, B., Rowland, P., Spurgeon, D., Svendsen, C., Thompson, I.P., Barnes, R.J., Williams, R.J. and Xu, N. (2011). An assessment of the fate, behaviour and environmental risk associated with sunscreen TiO2 nanoparticles in UK field scenarios. Science of the Total Environment 409 (13): 2503-2510.

Pottinger, T.G., Cook, A., Jürgens, M.D., Rhodes, G., Katsiadaki, I., Balaam, J.L., Smith, A.J. and Matthiessen, P. (2011). Effects of sewage effluent remediation on body size, somatic RNA: DNA ratio, and markers of chemical exposure in three-spined sticklebacks. Environ Int 37 (1): 158-69.

Pottinger, T.G., Cook, A., Jürgens, M.D., Sebire, M., Henrys, P.A., Katsiadaki, I., Balaam, J.L., Smith, A.J. and Matthiessen, P. (2011). Indices of stress in three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus in relation to extreme weather events and exposure to wastewater effluent. Journal of Fish Biology 79 (1): 256-279.

Balaam, J.L., Grover, D., Johnson, A.C., Jürgens, M., Readman, J., Smith, A.J., White, S., Williams, R. and Zhou, J.L. (2010). The use of modelling to predict levels of estrogens in a river catchment: How does modelled data compare with chemical analysis and in vitro yeast assay results? Science of the Total Environment 408 (20): 4826-4832.

Jürgens, M.D., Johnson, A.C., Pottinger, T.G. and Sumpter, J.P. (2009). Do suspended sediments modulate the effects of octylphenol on rainbow trout? Water Research 43 (5): 1381-1391.

Johnson, A.C., Jürgens, M.D., Williams, R.J., Kümmerer, K., Kortenkamp, A. and Sumpter, J.P. (2008). Do cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs discharged into rivers pose a risk to the environment and human health? An overview and UK case study. Journal of Hydrology 348 (1-2): 167-175.

Jarvie, H.P., Neal, C., Juergens, M.D., Sutton, E.J., Neal, M., Wickham, H.D., Hill, L.K., Harman, S. A., Davies, J. J. L. and Warwick, A. (2006). Within-river nutrient processing in Chalk streams: The Pang and Lambourn, UK. Journal of Hydrology 330 (1-2): 101-125.

Johnson, A.C., Aerni, H.R., Gerritsen, A., Gibert, M., Giger, W., Hylland, K., Jürgens, M.D., Nakari, T., Pickering, A.D., Suter, M.J.-F., Svenson, A. and Wettstein, F.E. (2005). Comparing steroid estrogen, and nonylphenol content across a range of European sewage plants with different treatment and management practices. Water Research 39 (1): 47-58.

Jürgens, M.D., Holthaus, K.I.E., Johnson, A.C., Smith, J.J.L., Hetheridge, M. and Williams, R. J. (2002). The potential for estradiol and ethinylestradiol degradation in English rivers. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 21 (3): 480-488.

Holthaus, K.I.E., Johnson, A.C., Jürgens, M.D., Williams, R.J. and Carter, J.E. (2002). The potential for estradiol and ethinylestradiol to sorb to suspended and bed-sediments in some English rivers. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 21 (12): 2526-2535.