Investigación - Nuestro equipo

Cristina is an expert in water quality and health, with a strong focus on exposure assessment to chemicals in water and environmental epidemiology.

Graduated in Environmental Sciences (1998) and PhD in Environmental Epidemiology (2003) by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Post-doctoral training at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Rennes, France (2004-2005). Researcher in the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology-CREAL (2006-2016).

Currently she coordinates research studies on water contaminants and health in ISGlobal and leads the collaborative projects “Characterising Oral Exposure to Nanoplastics and Microplastics”, “Risk of colorectal and breast cancer with widespread drinking water chemical contaminants. Cancer Watch”, “Prenatal exposure to poly- and perfluorinated substances (PFAS) in drinking water and neurodevelopment early in life. PFAS-Water“, and is Work Package leader of the Horizon Europe project “intoDBP. Innovative tools to control organic matter and disinfection byproducts in drinking water”. She is also member of the research team of BWATER and MARCHES projects.   

She leads the CIBERESP group 38, and teaches Environmental Epidemiology to graduate students at the Global Health Master (UB) and the Planetary Health Master (UOC).

Líneas de investigación

• Disinfection by-products (DBPs)
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
• Microplastics
• Nitrate
• Mixtures
• Non-communicable diseases (cancer, pregnancy and child health, respiratory outcomes)
• Biomarkers and mechanisms (e.g. -omics)
• Risk and health impact assessment
• Planetary health
• Drought and water quality

Principales publicaciones

• Villanueva CM, Evlampidou I, Fathelrahman I, Donat-Vargas C, Valentin A, Tugulea AM, Echigo S, Jovanovic D, Lebedev AT, Lemus-Pérez M, Rodriguez-Susa M, Luzati A, de Cássia dos Santos Nery T, Pastén PA, Quiñones M, Regli S, Weisman R, Dong S, Ha M, Phattarapattamawong S, Manasfi T, Shaibu-Imodagbe Egbenya Musah, Eng A, Janák K, Rush SC, Reckhow D, Krasner SW, Vineis P, Richardson SD, Kogevinas M. Global assessment of chemical quality of drinking water: the case of trihalomethanes. Water Research 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.119568
• Vega-Herrera A, Llorca M, Borrell-Diaz X, Redondo-Hasselerharm PE, Abad E, Villanueva CM, Farré M. Polymers of micro(nano)plastic in household tap water of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. Water Research 2022; 220: 118645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118645
• Villanueva CM, Garfí M, Mila C, Olmos S, Ferrer I, Tonne C. Health and environmental impacts of drinking water choices in Barcelona, Spain: a modelling study. Science of the Total Environment 2021; 795: 148884. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148884
• Villanueva CM, Grau-Pujol B, Evlampidou I, Escola V, Goñi F, Kuckelkorn J, Grummt T, Arjona L, Lazaro B, Etxeandia A, Ulibarrena E, Nhacolo A, Muñoz J. Chemical and in-vitro bioanalytical assessment of drinking water quality in Manhiça, Mozambique. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology 2021; 31(2): 276-88. doi: 10.1038/s41370-020-00282-5. 
• Evlampidou I, Font-Ribera L, Rojas-Rueda D, Gracia-Lavedan E, Costet N, Pearce N, Vineis P, Jaakkola JJK, Delloye F, Makris KC, Stephanou EG, Kargaki S, Kozisek F, Sigsgaard T, Hansen B, Schullehner J, Nahkur R, Galey C, Christian Zwiener, Vargha M, Righi E, Aggazzotti G, Kalnina G, Grazuleviciene R, Polanska K, Gubkova D, Bitenc K, Goslan EH, Kogevinas M, Villanueva CM. Trihalomethanes in drinking water and bladder cancer burden in the European Union. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2020; 128(1):17001.  doi: 10.1289/EHP4495.