Journal of Xenobiotics | Interview with One of the Chairs of the 1st International Online Conference on Xenobiotics—Prof. Dr. Stefano Magni

We are pleased to announce the 1st International Online Conference on Xenobiotics (IOCXe2026), organized by the Journal of Xenobiotics (JoX, ISSN: 2039-4713), Impact Factor: 4.4, CiteScore: 6.0), a peer-reviewed and open access journal published by MDPI. This virtual conference will take place online from 22 to 23 June 2026.

The following is a short interview with Prof. Dr. Stefano Magni:

1. Can you please start by introducing yourself?

2. Could you introduce your current research direction and provide an update on your recent progress?
My research focuses on the study of (micro)plastic pollution in aquatic environments, applying a holistic approach that integrates various ecotoxicological tools to assess both the presence and effects of these xenobiotics in organisms. In particular, I investigate the toxicity of (micro)plastics using a wide battery of biomarkers, applied at different levels of biological organization, as well as omics techniques, from NGS to metabolomics. However, although the environmental toxicity of (micro)plastics is well documented, less attention is paid to other plastic-related materials, such as tire rubber particles. For this reason, I recently shifted my attention to the effects of particles generated by the abrasion between tire treads and asphalt, the so-called Tire Road Wear Particles (TRWPs), to study the potential toxicity on freshwater species.

3. What do you believe will be the hot topics in the field of xenobiotics research over the next few years? Can you please share the topics and the reasons behind them?
In the next years, probably, research on xenobiotics will focus on the monitoring and effect evaluation of specific classes of contaminants such as PFAS—due to their high toxicity—(nano)plastics—due to their difficult detection in the environmental matrices—and water-soluble polymers—which represent an emerging issue in the context of non-conventional plastic materials (consider, e.g., the widespread use of polyvinyl alcohol). In the context of the new frontiers of ecotoxicology, the concept of “Exposome” will offer a more integrated framework toward a real-exposure approach.

4. As the Conference Co-Chair of IOCXe2026, could you briefly describe the kind of conference you are looking forward to?
The IOCXe2026 will be an interdisciplinary meeting that focuses on the impact of xenobiotics on the health of both natural ecosystems and humans, addressing the most pressing challenges in xenobiotic research, as I reported above. In addition, I would like to create a relaxed and informal scientific environment for networking.

5. With numerous conferences being organized each year, do you have any suggestions on how our conference could be made more meaningful for scholars and students?
It could be interesting to organize sessions of short presentations (3 minutes) in which students share their work presented at the conference as a poster. This aspect could allow the opportunity to present preliminary data from new studies, such as PhD projects.

6. From your perspective, what are the key benefits of participating in an academic conference, and does it help you promote your research results, expand your network, find potential collaborators, or advance your career?
Academic conferences are essential for advancing both science and scientific networks. They provide an opportunity to present the results obtained from recent research, receiving important feedback to eventually refine the ongoing work.