Waste water treatment plants (WWTPs), concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), mining activities, and agricultural operations release contaminants that negatively affect surface water quality. Traditional methods using live animals (e.g., fish) to monitor/assess contaminant exposure and impacts in affected ecosystems are both resource and time intensive and are not sustainable in the long term. We are developing and applying optimized cell culture-based methods employing metabolomics combined with high throughput NMR and high resolution MS spectroscopic analyses to obtain multi-endpoint cellular responses to stressor exposure.Furthermore, we are applying cell culture-based metabolomics using zebrafish (Danio rerio) liver cells (ZFL) to determine impacted biochemical processes and putative biomarkers of exposure to surface waters from contaminated and pristine sites. Detailed chemical characterization of the test surface waters combined with the metabolomic analysis will provide insight on stressor exposure and impacts.

 

key words

Metabolomics; Metabolite profiling; Cell culture; Biochemistry; Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Mass spectrometry;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral and Senior applicants