Lydia Niemi is a Hydro Nation PhD scholar registered at the University of Highlands and Islands, and based at the Environmental Research Institute (Thurso) and James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen). Her research characterises pharmaceutical degradation, persistence and fate during wastewater treatment and in receiving waters. Focus of her work is also given to developing novel chemical and bioassay methods to assess the eco-toxicological impacts of pharmaceuticals and degradation products in aquatic ecosystems. The aim of Lydia's research is to gain new insights into pharmaceutical behaviour during wastewater treatment and the subsequent effects in natural water systems in order to improve water quality and lessen the environmental risk of these compounds.

Lydia received her MSc degree in Environmental Analytical Chemistry from the University of Aberdeen, and her BA from the College of Wooster in Ohio. She first began researching pharmaceutical persistence in treated wastewater as an undergraduate student, and she was awarded the American Chemical Society Undergraduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry for her thesis and publication.

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