As a part of mobility and training program for young researchers and postgraduate students within the project REP-LECOTOX (Contract No. INCO-CT-2006-043559-REP-LECOTOX) I was on a four week training course (17.07.-10.08.2007.) in partnering Institute - Research Centre for Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology RECETOX, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.

    Prior to the training course, I attended 3rd Summer School of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 09-15.07.2007.), organized by RECETOX. The concept of Summer School was to provide theoretical knowledge on environmental chemistry and toxicology of PTS through the series of lectures given by scientists from the hosting institute, as well as from Department of Environmental Science, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK; Institute for Molecular Sciences, Bordeaux, France; Department of Toxic Organic Pollutants, Slovak Medical University, Bratislava, Slovakia; Meteorological Synthesizing Centre East, Moscow, Russia; Safety and Environmental Technology Group, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

A four week training course in RECETOX was realized under the supervision and guidance of associated professor, PhD Ludek Blaha and with the help of PhD students from RECETOX. The aim of training course was getting an insight into the work of laboratories in RECETOX, to prepare real sediment samples for environment for chemical and ecotoxicological analyses and to strengthen the existing collaboration with the partnering institute.

    Practical work consisted of observing and participating in conducting ecotoxicological tests under supervision of PhD students: Growth inhibition test on freshwater algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Determination of inhibition of the mobility of Daphnia magna - acute toxicity test, Yeast assays for testing receptor-mediated effects, Determination of dehydrogenase activity in soil, Toxicity test with Folsomia candida and Enchytraeus albidus and Luminescent bacteria test using Vibrio fischeri.

Real sediment samples for environment were brought from Serbia, from highly contaminated wastewater channel of Pancevo industrial zone in lyophilized state. Samples were seized and prepared for ecotoxicological analyses according to ISO Guideline 14735 (2005) and then used for tests using Vibrio fischeri, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Daphnia magna as test organisms. In addition, chemical analyses for metals were conducted under the supervision of PhD Jiri Machat. The results were incorporated into my master thesis and in the time of writing this report are submitted for poster presentation in SETAC congress 2008.

    Training course in RECETOX enabled me to gain knowledge and practical experience in field of ecotoxicology, to get acquainted and hopefully to continue collaboration with renowned scientists as well as with young researches, an opportunity to broaden my education and contribute in work and further improvement of Laboratory for Ecotoxicology.

     I would like to thank Dr Ludek Blaha and the staff of RECETOX for their help and hospitality and to thank Prof. Radmila Kovacevic for given opportunity to get valuable scientific experience.

Ivana Planojević