People of ICEBERG — Gaud Dervilly & María Murcia-Morales from Oniris

Throughout the ICEBERG project, we will introduce the people working on the project. In our second personnel introduction, Gaud Dervilly and María Murcia-Morales from Oniris introduce themselves and share what inspires them in ICEBERG.

Gaud Dervilly

I am Gaud Dervilly, a public health researcher and deputy director of the LABERCA research unit at Oniris in Nantes, France. With over 20 years of experience, I focus on consumer exposure to chemical hazards, such as environmental contaminants, and their impact on human health.

Until now, my focus has been on national and European populations, and ICEBERG offers an exciting opportunity to extend this work to populations living in diverse environments and with varying diets. I will contribute to Work Packages 1 and 2 by employing innovative analytical strategies to measure historical and emerging pollutants in snow, sediments, food, and breast milk. By assessing the diets of the studied populations, we aim to evaluate their exposure to pollutants and propose public health recommendations.

I am engaged in the ICEBERG project because it offers a unique opportunity to examine the effects of early climate change and exposure to chemical contaminants, including microplastics, through an integrated exposomic approach—meaning investigating the comprehensive range of environmental exposures impacting human health.

The project’s multidisciplinary framework allows for the consideration of various exposure determinants—such as environmental, societal, and climatic factors—thereby providing a comprehensive understanding of their impact on populations.

“ICEBERG offers a unique opportunity to examine the effects of early climate change and exposure to chemical contaminants”

As a scientist focused on public health issues related to population exposure to chemical contaminants, I see this project as a unique opportunity to explore the Environment-Food-Health continuum. This approach encompasses various determinants of the exposome, including dietary factors, socio-economic conditions, environmental influences, and geographical contexts.

Additionally, ICEBERG presents a valuable multidisciplinary experience, allowing me to engage with new disciplines and colleagues, thereby enriching my understanding and expanding my methods of collaboration.

María Murcia-Morales

My name is María Murcia-Morales, I am a Spanish postdoctoral researcher currently doing a research stay at LABERCA-ONIRIS research group (Nantes, France) under the supervision of Bruno Le Bizec and Gaud Dervilly until September, 2025.

Within the ICEBERG project, I will be working on the analysis of food, breast milk, and sediment samples (WP1 and WP2). I have previously worked in the large-scale monitoring of environmental contaminants within the European Union countries, using innovative sampling approaches combined with citizen science (that is, the direct involvement of the population in the scientific project).

Additionally, for several years, I have performed the analysis of chemical contaminants in food samples within the framework of a European Union Reference Laboratory (whose purpose includes the yearly analysis of a large number of food products to ensure the population’s safety). I hope my experience in the citizen science, environmental monitoring, and food safety fields will contribute to the ICEBERG goals.

“The interdisciplinary nature of this project and the direct involvement of Indigenous Peoples make it particularly fascinating.”

I am working on the ICEBERG project because there are still knowledge gaps regarding the presence of pollutants in the Arctic and the exposure of human populations to them. This area is highly sensitive to climate change, and at the same time it plays a key role in regulating global climate systems.

I am an enthusiast of environmental and food analysis, as they are both essential to ensure human health and environmental sustainability: only if we know which pollutants pose the biggest threads (due to their iniquitousness and/or their toxicity), will we be able to adopt the most efficient measures to reduce their potential impacts on the environment and the human health. The interdisciplinary nature of this project and the direct involvement of Indigenous Peoples make it particularly fascinating, as they will allow us to obtain a holistic picture of the main challenges faced in these areas.

Until now, my research has been mainly focused on the monitoring of pesticides (employed in agriculture and with a widespread presence in the environment) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are released during the burning of organic materials like coal or wood). The ICEBERG project has an ambitious analytical scope, which includes not only pesticides but also other groups of contaminants such as dioxins (byproducts of industrial processes) or PFAS (employed in products like non-stick cookware or waterproof clothing).

Additionally, the Arctic environments in which this project takes place differ significantly from the European countries where I am used to monitoring the chemical pollutants. Hence, I hope to learn a lot about the most relevant contaminants in the Arctic environments, and how they compare to the Southern areas such as Europe. I also hope that this project will help us all understand how pollution, climate change, and human exposure are interconnected in these regions.