In the thesis, Soler has studied the relationship between prenatal exposure to manganese (Mn) and arsenic (As) and the appearance of adverse effects in child neuropsychological development in the participants of the INMA cohorts from Valencia and Guipúzcoa, as well as evaluating the factors associated with these exposures. The INMA project aims to study the role of environmental pollutants during pregnancy and the beginning of life, and their effects on child growth and development. This is a Strategic Research Action of the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (Ministry of Science and Innovation).

The thesis of Raquel Soler, defended in the Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry of the University of Valencia on July 6, is by compendium of publications. In the first publication, the effects of prenatal exposure to manganese on infant neurodevelopment in the year of age were studied. In the second work, the exposure to arsenic and its different metabolites was evaluated, as well as the efficiency of methylation during the first trimester of pregnancy, identifying the factors associated with these variables. The last article, published during the year 2022, evaluated the relationship between prenatal exposure to arsenic and neuropsychological development at 4-5 years of age, and identified the specific effect of each of the arsenic species analysed in maternal urine.

Raquel Soler has a diploma in Nursing, a master’s degree in Research in Nursing Sciences and also a master’s degree in Public Health and Health Management. The thesis was supervised by Ferran Ballester, professor of Nursing at the University of Valencia; Sabrina Llop, researcher Miguel Servet II in the Area of Environment and Health in FISABIO; and Mario Murcia, from the Health Information Systems Analysis Service of the Ministry of Health. The tribunal was formed by expert personnel in the field of exposure to metals and other environmental toxins: Miguel Santibáñez (University of Cantabria), as president, and Marisa Estarlich (University of Valencia) as secretary. The international speaker was Martha María Téllez Rojo, researcher in medical sciences at the Nutrition and Health Research Centre of the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico.

Annex photo caption: Court and thesis supervision team, with Raquel Soler.