Zoltán NÉMETH

My scientific interests focus on the complex assessment of the potential environmental risks of UV-filtering compounds in cosmetics for Lake Balaton.

Lake Balaton's water quality and ecological status are important scientific, environmental, and, through tourism, economic issues of high public concern. Increasing infrastructure development, sports, and leisure activities attract large numbers of visitors to coastal areas, which increases the introduction of light pollution into the environment. Recent studies have shown that UV filters enter the aquatic environment, and measurements have demonstrated their toxicity to aquatic ecosystems. Photoprotective compounds can also be cytotoxic and genotoxic, and international research has shown that they can induce estrogen-like effects in organisms, induce changes in the gonads, reduce fertility and cause feminization in male fish. The research, which has not yet been conducted in domestic lakes, would raise awareness of the environmental risks of using UV filtering compounds and provide an opportunity for early detection of ecologically harmful effects. This would increase our knowledge of the real or perceived environmental impacts of potential threats to Lake Balaton, which is important information for decision-makers. Lake Balaton is the largest shallow lake in Central Europe, a natural heritage of outstanding value, and its increased protection and preservation for future generations is in our common interest and responsibility.

These are the basic questions of my doctoral research to which I seek answers:

• What are the most common UV-filtering compounds detected in environmental samples
• How do their concentrations in the environment vary with the seasons
• What typical physiological effects are observed in representative aquatic invertebrate model organisms

A further aim of my experimental work is to investigate, in controlled laboratory experiments, the complex physiological effects of UV-filtering compounds detected from the water system on zooplankton (e.g., Daphnia sp.) and macroinvertebrates (Lymnaea stagnalis) after chronic (21-day) treatments with environmentally relevant concentrations.

Major awards, scholarships:

• Cooperative Doctoral Programme for Doctoral Scholarships (2021)
• Gedeon Richter Talentum Excellence PhD Scholarship  (2022)
• ELTE - V. Competition of Science communication, TikTok minivideo category, 1. place (2023)