Keynote Speaker
Dr. Diana S. Aga
University of Buffalo
SUNY Distinguished Professor
Director of RENEW Institute
“Free Drugs”, “Superbugs”, and “Forever Chemicals” in the Environment: Occurrence and Implications
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​The chemical pollution of surface waters in the US and around the world has become a major concern because of their adverse human health and ecological effects. Residues of pharmaceuticals and other synthetic organic compounds have been detected in the environment at trace concentrations, but with long-term deleterious effects on humans and wildlife. In this presentation, results from a global reconnaissance of antimicrobials and other pollutants (such as perfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), aka Forever Chemicals) in surface waters and drinking water will be presented. Antimicrobials and other pharmaceuticals are of particular concern because the presence of these compounds in the environment plays a role in the emergence of antimicrobial resistance and result in mutations that create “Superbugs”, pathogenic bacterial that are hard to treat. Further, this presentation will provide information on the environmental fate and health effects of PFAS that are present in many of our consumer products. Comprehensive and reliable analytical methods that are applicable in multiple environmental media are lacking. Regulating the levels of PFAS in the environment has become challenging because prioritization of PFAS for monitoring and control has not been fully established for many or the most frequently detected PFAS due to limitations in current analytical methods. Sampling and separation methods have severely limited our ability to comprehensively identify and accurately quantify PFAS contaminants in the environment, especially those emerging PFAS that are either highly polar or volatile. Nontarget analysis employing high-resolution liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is one of the key approaches for tackling the daunting task of identifying unknown environmental contaminants. This presentation will highlight examples of the challenges and potential solutions in PFAS analysis, ranging from matrix effects, ionization efficiencies, extraction, separation, quantification, and unknown identification in complex environmental matrices, especially the short-chain PFAS. I will also present applications of other analytical tools, such as ion mobility separation for identification of PFAS and their transformation products.
Diana Aga, PhD, is the Henry Woodburn Professor of Chemistry and a SUNY Distinguished Professor at UB, where she also serves as the Director of RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) Institute. An analytical chemist, her research involves studying the fate, transport, effects, and treatment of chemicals of emerging concern and persistent organic pollutants in the environment. Recipient of numerous awards and honors, Dr. Aga has received the National Science Foundation CAREER award; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship; 2 Fulbright Fellowships; and, the Menzie Environmental Education Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the recipient of the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal by the Western New York Section of the ACS.
