Trainee Success Story: Mónica Ramírez-Andreotta Promoted
Nov. 26, 2013
Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Andreotta, former University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) trainee, has accepted an Assistant Professor position at Northeastern University.
As a UA SRP trainee, Dr. Ramírez-Andreotta conducted a controlled greenhouse study in parallel with a co-created citizen science program (Gardenroots) to characterize the uptake of arsenic by homegrown vegetables near a Superfund site in Arizona. She is also the former UA SRP Research Translation Coordinator, and has extensive experience transferring information and technology from researchers into the hands of stakeholders at all levels.
As an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences in the Bouve College of Health Sciences and a member of the Social Sciences and Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University, Ramírez-Andreotta will be working to improve environmental health, particularly among underserved populations, by using a community-based participatory research approach. She will build upon her Gardenroots experiences to monitor and improve the quality of water, soil and food in urban and rural gardens, and to explore which plants can simultaneously hyperaccumulate multiple heavy metals, metalloids and/or organic contaminants in order to successfully phytoremediate contaminated soils, particularly in residential spaces. In parallel, she hopes to develop tools that can provide more robust exposure and dose estimates and to design effective communication and report-back strategies that empower individuals and policymakers. Ultimately, Ramírez-Andreotta hopes her work will lead to improved policy and regulations concerning toxic substances in the environment and food products.
“I look forward to applying the Environmental Research Translation framework I designed to increase public participation in environmental health research, collaboration between all stakeholders and the affected communities, and risk communication efforts to the communities neighboring contamination,” says Ramírez-Andreotta.
Congratulations and best wishes for success in your new position, Mónica!