Events & News

Events

Environmental Engineering Seminar Series

News

EPFL Researchers taking samples from alpine lakes. 2026 EPFL/Anna Carratalà CC-BY-SA 4.0

Alpine bacteria show unexpected ability to fight viruses

— EPFL researchers found that bacterial communities in Alpine lakes, which are resistant to viruses that infect them, can reduce the infectivity of other viruses in the lab. These findings suggest potential biotechnological applications in various fields, including agriculture.

© 2026 EPFL

Dr. Josephine Meibom – PhD Defense – September 3rd, 2026

— Professor Tamar Kohn, thesis director, and the whole LEV'team, congratulate Dr. Josephine Meibom for her thesis on "Proteolytic Inactivation of Viruses in Lakewater".

Cyanobateria bloom in a lake © iStock

A tiny pore identifies cyanobacteria toxins in lake water

— EPFL researchers have developed a nanopore sensor that distinguishes seven toxins from cyanobacteria blooms, and can detect one common toxin at concentrations far below World Health Organization guidelines.

© 2025 EPFL

More IWA awards for LEV members

— More good news from the IWA Health-related water microbiology conference in the Netherlands : Daniela and Sujin win the best poster and best presentation awards (among ~ 500 entries). Josephine and Aina’s presentations also received high praise.

Shotaro Torii, University of Tokyo - © 2025 EPFL

Shotaro Torii wins 2025 IWA Willie Grabow award

— Former LEV member Shotaro Torii is the recipient of the 2025 Willie Grabow Young Investigator award of the International Water Association. This award is given to young scientists (< 35) who are doing outstanding research in the field of health-related water microbiology. Shotaro is currently an assistant professor at University of Tokyo.

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