ChIR Symposium Speakers

Plenary Speakers

Maria de Lurdes Cristiano

Maria L. S. Cristiano is full professor of Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Algarve (FCT/UAlg). Present duties: director of the PhD course in Chemistry; PI of the R&D group Organic Reactivity and Medicinal Chemistry (OrgMedChem) of Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMar/UAlg). Memberships: IUPAC subcommittee “Structural and Mechanistic Chemistry”; Portuguese Chemical Society; Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC, CCHEM). Research interests: Organic Reactivity; Heterocyclic Chemistry; anti-infectives. Research in the OrgMedChem group combines tools and approaches of Physical Organic and Medicinal Chemistry to investigate structure, reactivity, and properties of molecules with potential applications in human and animal health.

Monsterrat Filella

Montserrat Filella is a research associate at the F.-A. Forel Department of Environmental and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), where she taught environmental and analytical chemistry. Her main research interests focus on understanding the physico-chemical processes that regulate the behaviour of chemical components in environmental and biological compartments, mainly by combining thermodynamic modelling with field and laboratory measurements. Her initial interests were mainly focused on the study of colloids and natural organic matter (quantification and interaction with trace elements) in natural waters but, in recent years, her interests have diversified to include the study of inorganic additives in plastics and the environmental fate of plastics, less studied technology critical elements (Ta, Nb, Sb, Ge, Te), biomineralization processes, and kinetic and thermodynamic data acquisition and preservation. Montserrat Filella's research has resulted in more than 220 peer-reviewed publications. She has recently published a book on antimony. She has organised several international meetings and numerous sessions at scientific congresses. She is active in academic societies and in the Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data (SSED of IUPAC).

Keynote Speakers

Ester Carregal Romero

Ester Carregal Romero earned her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Vigo, her hometown in Spain, and went on to complete a PhD in Materials Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She complemented her education with post-graduate studies in Innovation Management at the University of Barcelona and the Erasmus Mundus Master in Chemical Innovation and Regulation (ChIR) that she studied at the University of Bologna and Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. The specialization gained thanks to the ChIR programme led her to start an international career in the field of chemicals safety management at several high-profile stakeholders, including a regulatory authority (European Chemicals Agency-Finland), industry (Henkel- Germany), and an international organisation (Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)- France).
Currently, Ester is a Junior Policy Analyst at the Environmental Health and Safety Division at the OECD, where she coordinates different projects related to risk assessment of chemicals, risk assessment of manufactured nanomaterials, and biosafety of GMOs. Outside of her academic and professional endeavours, Ester is passionate about traveling and outdoor activities as trekking and surf.

Askar Nurassilov

Askar Nurassilov is a global chemical control legislation professional with profound expertise in the registration of chemicals.
Askar grew up in Abay, a small industrial town in central Kazakhstan.
Askar’s educational journey led him to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences, Chemistry, which was followed by enrollment into the ChIR program at the University of Algarve and the University of Barcelona.
His master's thesis was focused on the strategies used by companies in Portugal and Spain to avoid animal testing under REACH, which was done in collaboration with APEQ in Portugal and FEIQUE in Spain.
Upon graduation, Askar gained a multifaceted perspective on global chemical regulation via various experiences in consulting firms, ECHA and manufacturing companies in Spain, Portugal, Finland and Germany.
The experience of working with regulations from different sites of the industry helps him build robust registration strategies for businesses.
Askar considers chemical registration to be a key to accessing the global market.

Ana Isabel Vallejo Cortés

Ana Vallejo concluded the Erasmus Mundus master’s degree in chemical Innovation and regulation, with a research project focused on nanotoxicology in 2017 (Heriot-Watt University/University of Bologna).

(2019-current) For the past three years, she have been working in a biotechnology company focused on the agricultural sector, Kimitec. The company develops and markets a wide range of agricultural solutions including fertilisers, prebiotics, biostimulants and biopesticides. Her daily job involves registering these products in different countries (Brazil, Turkey, Morocco, Australia, Poland, Hungary, Cyprus, Portugal, Germany, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates). The job requires regulatory expertise to adapt to the local regulations. This includes working with CLP, REACH and BPR regulations and the new Fertilizer regulation 1009/2019 for countries in Europe, and different regulation on fertilizers and plant protection products for countries outside Europe. In addition, she provides support the R&D department on new product prototypes to comply with the relevant regulations.

(2018-2019) Before this position, she had the opportunity to work at the European Chemicals Agency, providing advice to industry and Member states competent authorities and helping them comply with their obligations under REACH and CLP regulations. Her daily job included engaging with internal and external stakeholders, providing support from the regulatory perspective, IT submission tools (IUCLID, REACH-IT) as well as ECHA’s dissemination platform. She also had the opportunity to take part and support the planning and coordination of two HelpNet events involving ECHA experts and EU member states helpdesks representatives.
She has thoroughly enjoyed the work she has performed, and is keen to continue working within the field of chemical and plant protection legislation.

ChIR Symposium 2023