Profile of Dr. Francesco Pomati - Research Associate

Francesco's research interests include the toxicology of complex drug mixtures and micropollutants, including natural toxins. His research addresses the identification of risks associated with water contamination. Francesco's research also embraces the genetics of STX production in cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates and microbial diversity in extreme environments.
Francesco is interested in the potential adverse human health effects associated with exposure to trace chemicals in the environment, as a testimony of the intimate relationship between ecosystem health and human health. He works on man-made and natural toxins, in particular pharmaceuticals and cyanobacterial toxins, investigating screening procedures and toxicological approaches, methods and tools to bridge the gap between human toxicology and environmental sciences. Francesco is mainly working on the development of standardised toxicity tests for the elucidation of adverse health effects caused by trace chemicals and their mixtures, as well as their mechanisms of action.
Contact
Phone: +61 2 9385 3659
email: f.pomati@unsw.edu.au
Publications
Journal Articles
- Effects and interactions in an environmentally relevant mixture of pharmaceuticals
- Toxicological Sciences 102(1):129-37.
- Expression Profiles in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Liver Cells Exposed to a Mixture of Pharmaceuticals at Environmentally Relevant Concentrations.
- Chemosphere, in press
- Stromatolites as a resource for novel natural products
- Orig Life Evol Biosph. 36(5-6), 623-624
- Removal of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in Italy.
- Environ Sci Technol. 40(1):357-63.
- Effects of a complex mixture of therapeutic drugs at environmental levels on human embryonic cells.
- Environ Sci Technol. 40(7):2442-7.
- Comparative gene expression of PSP-toxin producing and non-toxic Anabaena circinalis strains.
- Environ Int. 32(6):743-8.
- Pharmaceuticals in the environment in Italy: causes, occurrence, effects and control.
- Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 13(1):15-21.
- Genetic potential for secondary metabolite production in stromatolite communities.
- FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2005 Feb 1;243(1):293-301.
- Identification of an Na(+)-dependent transporter associated with saxitoxin-producing strains of the cyanobacterium Anabaena circinalis.
- Appl Environ Microbiol. 70(8):4711-9.
- Use of Ion-Channel Modulating Agents to Study Cyanobacterial Na(+) - K(+) Fluxes.
- Biol Proced Online. 6:137-143.
- Evidence for differences in the metabolism of saxitoxin and C1+2 toxins in the freshwater cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii T3.
- Biochim Biophys Acta. 1674(1):60-7.
- PCR-based positive hybridization to detect genomic diversity associated with bacterial secondary metabolism.
- Nucleic Acids Res. 32(1):e7.
- Effects of erythromycin, tetracycline and ibuprofen on the growth of Synechocystis sp. and Lemna minor.
- Aquat Toxicol. 67(4):387-96.
- Interactions between intracellular Na+ levels and saxitoxin production in Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii T3.
- Microbiology. 150(Pt 2):455-61.
- Effects of saxitoxin (STX) and veratridine on bacterial Na+ -K+ fluxes: a prokaryote-based STX bioassay.
- Appl Environ Microbiol. 69(12):7371-6.