Pieter Spanoghe - Head of Research Group Crop Protection Chemistry

Pieter Spanoghe is Professor and has been Head of the Department of Crop Protection Chemistry at the Ghent University since 2012. The Laboratory, as part of the department of Plants and Crops, is highly skilled in the monitoring of pesticide residues in crops and foodstuff and environmental samples (soil, water and air), and the study of possible side effects of pesticide usage and human and environmental risk assessment and risk management.

Prof. Pieter Spanoghe teaches on all aspects of Crop Protection Chemicals: major topics are the history of pesticides use, different types of pesticides, mode of action of pesticides: insecticides, fungicides and herbicides, analytical aspects of pesticides, application techniques, environmental fate and behavior, human exposure during and after application, food safety, mitigation strategies and risk assessment systems (risk indicators).

He is member of several scientific advisory committees: member of the global IUPAC Committee on Crop Protection Chemistry, member of the scientific committee of the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain, ad hoc member of the national Superior Health Council, scientific stakeholder of the “National Action Plan” (NAPAN) for sustainable use of pesticides.