Body of Work

01

Assessment and public decisions

An earlier phase of applied casework for authorities and public-health questions, followed by research-led assessment focused on exposure, risk–benefit questions and prioritisation.

Earlier casework · BIOR
Began 2018

Chemical risk-assessment casework

I prepared chemical, and occasional microbiological, risk assessments and scientific opinions for Latvia's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Service and other authorities. The work covered food-contact materials, process contaminants, infant-suitable mineral water, environmental screening methods, food supplements and other regulatory questions. This is part of my professional history, not my current practice.

Public explanation: how food safety is assessed in Latvia · Delfi

Assessor and toolkit lead
2018–2026

Drinking-water safety

I assessed derogation cases for individual water producers, including a multi-year radionuclide-exposure assessment. I later led the development and delivery of a national drinking-water risk-assessment and monitoring toolkit covering more than 200 parameters against European drinking-water requirements.

Senior researcher and task lead
2019–2026

Risk–benefit assessment of fish consumption

For SEAwise, I compiled and normalised contaminant and nutritional data for commercial fish species. In GreenAgroRes, I led BIOR's task on consumption research, fish sampling and health indicators across four Latvian lakes. The resulting pilot assessment weighed methylmercury and PFAS exposure against nutritional benefits.

First-author study · Foods, 2026

02

Evidence systems and research tools

Work that turns scattered occurrence data and literature into reusable evidence structures, comparison methods and monitoring priorities.

Principal investigator · BIOR
2025–2028

National contaminant-occurrence database and risk prioritisation

I lead the From Data to Decisions postdoctoral project: a harmonised database for Latvian food and feed data linked with food consumption and toxicological reference values. The work includes a combined contaminants taxonomy, a database specification, national monitoring-data access and transparent risk-prioritisation methods.

Project description · BIOR Progress report · January–June 2026

Working Group coordinator and first author
2023–present

Bee-product contaminant evidence

Within COST Action BeSafeBeeHoney, I coordinate literature search, screening and data extraction across five edible bee-product matrices. The synthesis covers 161 studies from 61 countries and more than 27,000 harmonised occurrence records; its manuscript is under review.

BeSafeBeeHoney · COST CA22105 Related glyphosate-occurrence study · Food Control, 2026 · Co-author

03

Analytical methods and laboratory foundations

The technical foundation of the later assessment work: developing, validating and applying methods for complex chemical evidence.

Doctoral researcher · BIOR
2017–2021

Non-target high-resolution mass spectrometry

My PhD brought together non-target screening of food-contact materials, honey phenolics, residue analysis and multi-enzymatic biosensors. The non-target line later continued through collaboration with the US FDA on DART-HRMS screening of food-contact articles.

PhD thesis · University of Latvia, 2021 First-author paper-straw screening study · 2020

Study coordinator, first and corresponding author
2015–2019

Confirmatory method for anticoccidial residues

I coordinated the accredited validation of an LC-Orbitrap-HRMS method for 17 anticoccidial drug residues in poultry meat and eggs. The method was applied in Latvia's national residue-monitoring programme and published after optimisation with experimental design.

Method-development study · Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 2019

Method developer and researcher
2016–2026

Phenolics, honey authenticity and food fraud

I developed UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS methods for phenolic compounds, first in dark chocolate and later across roughly 400 Latvian and Georgian honey samples. That work supported published honey-authenticity research and later scientific advice on analytical methods and measurement uncertainty in food-fraud investigations.

Dark-chocolate phenolics · First author, 2019 Latvian honey phenolics · First author, 2021

EU-FORA fellow · CNR Naples
2017–2018

Multi-enzymatic biosensors for pesticide assessment

During a one-year EFSA EU-FORA fellowship, I worked at the CNR Institute of Protein Biochemistry on an automated multi-enzymatic biosensor for organophosphate-pesticide assessment in water and food, alongside training at European food-safety institutions.

EU-FORA fellowship report · EFSA Journal, 2018

Accredited laboratory analyst · BIOR
2015–2018

Routine analysis as a technical foundation

I worked across gas- and liquid-chromatography services for fatty acids, cholesterol, amino acids, milk-fat purity and honey proline. This period grounded later method development and risk assessment in the practical constraints of accredited testing.

04

Scientific cooperation and service

Roles connecting national work with European food-safety institutions, research networks and shared scientific standards.

Latvia's alternate member
2022–present

EFSA Management Board

I represent Latvia as an alternate member of the European Food Safety Authority's governing board.

Current Management Board members · EFSA

Alternate Focal Point member
2021–2022

EFSA scientific cooperation for Latvia

I coordinated elements of Latvia's EFSA cooperation, including national delivery of food-safety and animal-health communication campaigns and the cross-country information-request channel for competent organisations.

National expert
2019–2026

European expert groups and scientific fora

I have contributed as Latvia's attending expert, invited hearing expert or governmental expert in European Commission and EFSA settings addressing general food law, biomarkers of effect, Benchmark Dose methods and food-safety research systems.

Management Committee member
2023–present

European research networks

I represent Latvia in COST Action BeSafeBeeHoney and in Agrifood-OneAI, a 2026–2030 network on AI, One Health and agrifood decision-making.

BeSafeBeeHoney · CA22105 Agrifood-OneAI · CA25159

Scientific service
2018–present

Supervision and peer review

I have supervised and co-supervised BSc and MSc work in analytical chemistry and food authenticity, and review manuscripts for international food-safety, environmental and analytical-chemistry journals.

05

Continue exploring

Current research and collaboration remain on the overview. Talks, teaching and professional training now have a separate record.

Explore current research Speaking & teaching Discuss collaboration