Hosted by the CINARA Institute, Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia and the University of Glasgow

In 2022, 2.2 billion people still lacked access to safely managed drinking water, and four-fifths of those without access to even basic services lived in rural or remote areas. Providing accessible, safe, and sustainable drinking water in these regions is a global challenge: from the rural and peri-urban areas of Colombia to the remote islands of Scotland.

As part of the EPSRC programme grant in Off-Grid Water Technology and funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the CINARA Institute, Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia and the University of Glasgow have initiated a collaboration, combining Dr. Marta Vignola’s expertise in water microbial ecology with CINARA’s proficiency in designing and operating multistage filtration systems. Two Universidad del Valle students, Laura Isabella Vergara and Verónica Agudelo Guzmán have completed eight-month research internships at the University of Glasgow, under the supervision of Dr. Marta Vignola, analysing samples using advanced techniques such as flow cytometry, qPCR, and DNA sequencing.

As part of this collaborative project, on the 23 May 2025, community leaders, water plant operators, and researchers gathered at the CINARA Institute to hear about the results of the study and learn about the microbial communities inhabiting these systems and how we can use them to our advantage. The event was co-organised by Prof. Miguel Peña Varón and Prof. Luis Darío Sánchez Torres of CINARA, and Dr. Marta Vignola of the University of Glasgow.

The event began with a brief presentation from Dr. Marta Vignola who introduced the project.  Laura Isabella Vergara and Verónica Agudelo Guzmán shared their findings with workshop attendees, and panel discussions were held with Plant operators, community members, and academics.

Workshop participants went on to co-design a research roadmap grounded in local needs.   A scientific manuscript is currently in preparation.

Click here to read more about the event held on the 23 May 2025.

 

For further information, please contact:

Dr Marta Vignola / James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow

Prof. Miguel Peña  /  CINARA Institute, Universidad del Valle

Prof. Luis Darío Sanchez Torres / CINARA Institute, Universidad del Valle