Trainees from UNM and UA Superfund Research Centers Share Research

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Trainees from University of New Mexico (NM) and University of Arizona (UA) Superfund Research Centers organized virtual meetings to share their research experiences on April 21 and 28, 2022. 

After a short welcoming and introductions, trainees took turns delivering fast talk presentations or “elevator pitches” (3-to-5-minutes) to the group.

At the end of the presentations for each of the two days, trainees casted their votes for “most popular” presentation of the day, and the two with the highest number of votes received a gift card! The first day, the two presentations with most votes were by Taylor Busch and Theodros Woldeyohannes. The second day, Casey Millier and Ben Yan had the most votes.

In her closing remarks for the event, Dr. Johnnye Lewis (UNM Superfund Research Center Director) said, “It was exciting to see that there is a lot of similar interests and methods used and yet a diversity of outcomes and topics. It looks like we have a natural opportunity for some specialized working groups to break of from this that could look at developing some collaborative projects looking at the refinement of these methods and how robust these are across the different questions that are being asked.” 

From the University of New Mexico, we had the following presenters:

• Taylor Lilian Busch is a MS student in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department working on metals bioremediation. She presented: “The Uptake of Uranium and Arsenic by Fungi Isolated from the Jackpile Mine on the Laguna Pueblo.”
• Tybur Casuse Driovínto is a PhD student in the Environmental Engineering Department working on development of low-cost electrochemical arsenic sensors in water to increase availability of portable sensors to rural areas impacted by arsenic contamination. He presented: “Increased Sensitivity and Selectivity for As (III) Detection with Au(111) Single Crystal Surface”.
• Thomas Depree is a Post-Doctoral fellow working on sociotechnical dimensions of environmental health sciences, information, and governance with focus on the intersection between remedial sciences and restorative justice. He presented: “Conceptualizing Restorative Justice in Remedial Project Management on Indigenous Land”.
• Marcus Garcia is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences working on the systemic translocation and accumulation of plastics in biological tissues. He presented: “The systemic translocation of polystyrene microspheres following chronic oral gastric exposure”.
• Christopher Girlamo is a MS student in the Geography Department working on spatial public health issues collaboratively with Native American reservations. He presented: “Geospatial Modeling of Potential Environmental Exposure to Abandoned Mine Sites on Tribal Lands - A Comparison of Meteorological Data Sources”.
• Russell Hunter is a Doctoral Candidate studying the impacts of maternal ozone exposure on placental vascular development. He presented: “Impacts of Gestational Ozone Exposure on Placental Development and Cardiac Function in Mice”.
• Isabel Meza is a PhD Candidate from Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department.  She presented: “Solubility and Thermodynamic Investigation of Meta-Autunite Group Uranyl Arsenate Solids with Monovalent Cations Sodium (Na) and Potassium (K)”.
• Casey Miller is MS student in the Civil Engineering Department working on the bioaccumulation and physicochemical interfacial interactions of uranium and HDPE in agricultural soils. She presented: “The Interfacial Interactions or Uranium and HDPE in Agricultural Soils and their Bioaccumulation in Mentha Arvensis”.
• David Scieszka is a dual PhD/MBA candidate. He is focusing on the impact of environmental toxicants on systemic aging. He presented: “Inhaled Wildfire Smoke Could Affect Brain Aging”.
• Theodros Woldeyohannes is a PhD student in the Geography and Environmental Studies Department working on spatial models of public health issues through engagement with tribal nations. He presented: “Applying Community Engaged Practices for Geospatial Modeling of Potential Exposure to Environmental Contaminants on the Crow Nation”

Presenting from the University of Arizona were:

• Ma’in Zaid Alghzawi is a PhD student in the Departments of Environmental Science. Alghzawi’s research is focused the geochemical reactions in mine tailing sites. He presented “Studying the Climate-Driven Changes in Toxic Metal(loid) Enrichment and Depletion from Oxidative Weathering of Mine Tailings”.
• Alma Anides Morales is a PhD student in the Department of Environmental Science. Her research aims to incorporate citizen science data along with other government environmental monitoring efforts to create a mapping tool that will highlight strengths and needs to better address health disparities in Arizona communities. She presented: “Building an Environmental Health Mapping Tool for Arizona Communities”.
• Marquel Begay is a PhD Student in the Ecology, Management and Restoration of Rangelands Program at the School of Natural Resources and the Environment. She presented: “Assessing Native Plant Establishment and Survival under Seedball and Broadcast Treatments for Degraded Rangelands and Farmlands on the Navajo Nation”.
• Asma El Ouni is a PhD student in the Environmental Science Department. The purpose of her work is to investigate the feasibility and long-term efficacy of in-situ biosequestration for the remediation of uranium-contaminated groundwater at the Monument Valley site. She presented: “Pilot Study for In Situ Biosequestration for the Remediation of Uranium in Alluvial Groundwater at the Monument Valley, Arizona, UMTRCA Site”.
• Jessica Ledesma is a MS student working in Environmental Science Department. Her research focuses on characterizing the bio-physicochemical properties of topsoil stockpile material sourced from an Arizona copper mine to understand the effects of depth and storage time on soil health indices that are associated with plant establishment. She presented; “Effects of long-term stockpiling on soil quality and potential for mine site reclamation in semi-arid regions”.
• Susan Perez is a PhD student in the Environmental Science Department. Her research is focused on capturing and harvesting metals from water with metal-chelating hydrogels as a possible alternative or addition to existing water treatment technologies. She presented: “Zinc Removal from Water using Functionalized Hydrogels”.
• Aryatara Shakya is a PhD student in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Her research focuses on studying the relation of antioxidant protein NRF2 with the segregase protein p97 in promoting lung carcinogenesis in response to chronic arsenic exposure. She presented: “Exploring the interplay of NRF2 and p97 in lung cancer in response to Arsenic exposure”.
• Ben Yang is a PhD candidate in the Environmental Science Department. His research focuses on exploring the responses of soil microbial communities to ecological disturbances (e.g., invasive species) and restoration practices, and developing microorganisms-centered methods to improve dryland restoration outcomes. Ben Yan uses amplicon sequencing and big-data analysis in his restoration projects. He presented: “Application of soil microorganisms to dryland restoration”.

We want to give special thanks to Alma Anides Morales, Ben Yan, Isabel Meza and Eliane Hayek for organizing these exiting meetings. We are looking forward to continuing the conversation and meeting in person in the very near future!