"Fish populations are declining in inland waters in many parts of Europe due, in part, to the impact of aquatic pollutants on fish health. In many aquatic environments fish are exposed to effluents from wastewater treatment works (WwTW), and these can contain complex mixtures of chemicals arising from human waste. The impact of many of these contaminants and their mixtures on fish health is unknown and remains to be investigated. With future pressures on water resources resulting in less dilution of WwTW effluents in some river catchments, there is a urgent need to develop monitoring tools to assess effluent exposure and its effects on fish health.The objectives of this project are to investigate how the (bio)chemical profiles change in fish blood as a result of exposure to WwTW effluents, and to identify key (bio)chemical signatures that could be used to monitor exposure to wastewater effluents. To do this, the fellow will use the exciting omics-based technique of metabolomics. This involves the holistic mass spectrometry profiling of as many of the biochemicals as possible in the blood and, in the context of this project, will also involve profiling of chemical contaminants and their metabolites alsopresent in the samples. Fish will be exposed to WwTW effluents and the (bio)chemicals in their blood samples profiled to identify markers of effluent exposure and effect. The work will result in an array of candidate (bio)chemicals which can then be evaluated in future projects for biomonitoring of fish health in European rivers. The results will be of wide interest to the government regulatory bodies, environment protection groups, waterand waste industries and the wider public in Europe. The project will bring Dr David to work with Professor Hill, and allow him to benefit from a number of scientific and complementary training activities which will prepare the fellow for an independent research career in environmental science."