Helen Karasali
Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Greece
Helen Karasali is Research Director at the Benaki Phytopathological Institute (BPI), Greece, where she has worked since 1996 and has been Head of the Laboratory of Chemical Control of Pesticides since 2009. She holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Patras and a Diploma in Chemistry from the University of Patras.
Her scientific expertise focuses on analytical chemistry, pesticide quality control, environmental contaminants, pesticide residues, and regulatory assessment of plant protection products and biocides. She has extensive experience in the development and validation of analytical methods using GC, HPLC, GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, and atomic absorption spectrometry, as well as in laboratory quality management under ISO/IEC 17025.
Dr. Karasali is Chair of CIPAC and a member of the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Specifications (JMPS), where she also serves as an FAO rapporteur. She has contributed to FAO/WHO pesticide specifications and evaluation reports and has participated in numerous international collaborative studies and regulatory activities.
Her research interests include pesticide residues and environmental pollution, persistent organic pollutants, agricultural plastic waste, pesticide formulation analysis, counterfeit pesticide detection, and environmental risk assessment. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and has participated as an expert in EU, FAO, TAIEX, and other international scientific and capacity-building projects.