Trainee Success Story: Dr. Flérida Mejía Zamudio
May 1, 2015
In 2007, Flérida Adriana Mejía Zamudio came to Tucson from the Universidad de Sonora (UNISON), Mexico as a Dean Carter Binational Center for Environmental Health Sciences short-term exchange student. She worked with University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) investigator Dr. Wendell Ela and completed training that contributed toward her Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering.
Today, Dr. Mejía Zamudio is a professor in the Department of Geology at UNISON. She is currently collaborating with Dr. Diana Meza Figueroa, a long-time Binational Center collaborator and faculty at UNISON. These scientists are partnering on a project focused on dust exposure in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
In May 2015, Dr. Mejía Zamudio’s work brought her back to Tucson. Bringing dust samples from the Hermosillo project, Mejía Zamudio visited the Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants for metals analysis by inorganic analyst Mary Kay Amistadi. During this time, Dr. Mejía Zamudio took the time to visit with UA SRP and Binational Center personnel Denise Moreno Ramírez and Rocio Estrella. Reflecting on her time at the University of Arizona, Mejía Zamudio said her interactions during her short-term training helped her excel not only in her doctoral studies, but also in her professional career.