Mentors, Theme 1 (water use & quality)

Mentors in this theme work on diverse projects related to water quality, including land use impact on stream quality; modeling climate change and water; freshwater springs; and the impact of extreme weather events on natural systems. For more detail, visit our Theme 1 page.

Year 1 (2024-5)

Dr. Amir Hass

  • Dr. Hass is Associate Research Professor at West Virginia State University. His project is aimed at understanding and improving restoration of highly disturbed lands to regain their natural ecosystem role and services. Special emphasis is directed at restoring soil and water quality in previously mined lands.

  • You will learn about the soil-plant-water nexus and the underlying biogeochemical processes governing the system, gain proficiency in field soil and water sampling processing and handling; installation and operation of field monitoring instrumentation; operating, method development, and trouble shooing of analytical instrumentation such as ICP-OES, ICP-MS, TOC analyzer, Ion Chromatography, etc.; and conducting lab assays and analysis.

  • You will work in conjunction with local environmental consulting firms, environmental federal or state regulatory agencies, land owners, and surface coal mining operators.

WVSU

  • Dr. Palmquist is Assistant Professor at Marshall University. Her project is related to urban forest planning, identifying neighborhoods where flood risk could be reduced and ecosystem services could be enhanced through strategic tree planting.

  • You will learn about the multitude of ecosystem services (e.g. water diversion, carbon storage, pollution reduction) that urban trees provide, and gain knowledge in multiple fields including forestry, plant ecology, ecohydrology, geography, and quantitative ecology. You will will learn how to identify tree species native to West Virginia, along with commonly planted non-native tree species, make standard forestry measurements on trees, (3) use global positioning system (GPS) units and software to characterize ecosystem services provided by urban trees, and implement remote sensing and other geographic information systems (GIS) applications.

  • You will collaborate with undergraduate students and MS students in the Palmquist lab and colleagues at Marshall University.

Year 1 (2024-5)

  • Dr. Ranasinghe is an Assistant Professor at West Virginia State University. His project is aimed at studying water chemistry of mine sites in West Virginia using state of the art instrumentations.

  • Valuable experience in sampling environmental samples, preserving them for analysis, sample preparation for analysis, instrumental analysis, and data analysis will be gained. You will also gain hands on experience in instrumental analysis of HPLC-MS, GC-MS, ISP-OES, ICP-MS, TOC, and other lab instrumentation. You will also learn report preparation  and standard operating procedure (SOP) development.


  • You will work in conjunction with local chemical companies such as DOW chemical, DEP and local mining companies.


WVSU

Dr. Mohammad Nazari-Sharabian

  • Dr. Nazari-Sharabian is Assistant Professor at West Virginia State University. His project is related to how climate change will affect future precipitation and temperature in West Virginia, which can impact water quantity and quality.

  • You will work with the latest climate models under different scenarios, to assess future climatic conditions. You will gain valuable experience in Scientific and Technical Skills, Computational Skills, Data Management Skills, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Collaboration and Communication.

  • You will work in collaboration with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

WVSU

Year 1 (2024-5)

Year 1 (2024-5)

MU

Mentors, Theme 2 (environmental contamination)

Mentors in this area work on research topics that address the impact of contaminants on environmental and wildlife health, the potential for mitigation or removal, and how those effects intersect with human health issues. For more detail, visit our Theme 2 page.

Dr. Nadja Spitzer
Dr. Greg Dahle

  • Dr. Spitzer is an Associate Professor at Marshall University. Her project investigates the interactions of bioaccumulated silver nanoparticles with physiological mechanisms in brain cells. Silver nanoparticles are an environmental contaminant of emerging concern, they are increasingly incorporated in consumer products and are widely found in environmental water systems. Silver nanoparticles cross biological barriers and bioaccumulate in the brain.

  • You will investigate neurodegeneration and changes in synaptic structure and function in response to silver nanoparticle exposure using mammalian neural cell culture and transgenic fluorescent C. elegans. You will gain experience in mammalian cell culture, immunocytochemistry, immunohistochemistry, fluorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy, immunoblot, C. elegans culture and experimentation, data analysis, and scientific writing.

  • You will work in conjunction with other project faculty and their lab members.

MU

Year 1 (2024-5)

  • Dr. Dahle is Associate Professor at West Virginia University. His research involves the relationship between urban canopy coverage, air pollution, and human health issues.

  • You will measure urban canopy coverage in four regions of WV (Kanawha Valley, Eastern Panhandle, Morgantown, Northern Panhandle) using iTree software coupled with site visits. You will also model the relationship between canopy coverage, air pollution (both local sources and external sources such as the Ohio River Valley), and the incidence of asthma. You will gain skills in modeling ecosystem benefits from urban trees and acquiring pollution and public health data. You will also learn how to use freeware tools to conduct cover type mapping as well as assess canopy coverage in urban and rural areas.

  • You will collaborate with personnel from WV Division of Forestry Urban & Community Forestry program, WV EquiTree Grant Program, as well as local Tree Boards around the state.

WVU

Year 1 (2024-5)

Dr. Jen Gallagher

  • Dr. Gallagher is Associate Professor at West Virginia University. Her research investigates novel biological methods to remove contaminants from the environment. In this project, you will evolve yeast to become resistant to high levels of lead and then sequence the genomes.

  • You will acquire skills in project management, genomic analysis, and biochemistry.

  • You will work in conjunction with other project faculty and their lab members, Downstream Strategies (Morgantown, WV), and have the opportunity to attend and present at Pittsburgh Area Yeast Meeting and Genetics Society of America.

WVU

  • Dr. Quiñones is an Associate Professor at Marshall University. Her research involves modification and characterization of metal oxide nanoparticles using thin films; developing surface free radical polymerization to synthesize polymer brushes onto the metal oxide nanostructures; polymorph screening of pharmaceutical drugs; sunscreen analysis; and cannabinoid analysis of vape liquids and lotions.

  • The purpose of this project is to use metal oxide nanoparticles (Mg, Ti) and surface modifications in treatment of wastewater to detect and possibly remove heavy metal contaminants such as chromium which commonly enters water systems via industrial effluent. You will be engaged in a variety of material and surface chemistry studies as well as qualitative and quantitative analyses for the detection of heavy metals. Techniques you will learn include surface analysis, spectroscopic analysis (infrared, UV-Vis), measurement of particle size using zeta potential, and dynamic scattering in combination with scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

  • You will work in conjunction with other project faculty and their lab members.

MU

Dr. Quiñones is not on the ETAP application, but is available for a Year 1 project!

Year 1 (2024-5)

Year 1 (2024-5)

Mentors, Theme 3 (biological correlates of disease)

Mentors in this area work on research topics that address biological indicators of disease in the environment, including the impact of antibiotics, the role of wildlife as reservoirs of pathogen evolution, and environmental testing for infectious disease. For more detail, visit our Theme 3 page.

David Neff
Dr. Matt Kasson

  • Dr. Kasson is Associate Professor at West Virginia University. His group studies the metabolites associated with interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their plant partners

  • You will characterize fungi and their ecological roles using DNA barcoding coupled with functional bioassays including thermotolerance assays, inhibition assays, and pathogenicity tests. This work will help generate valuable insights into the connections between fungal community structure and ecosystem health.

  • You will work in conjunction with other project faculty and their lab members.

Year 1 (2024-5)

Year 1 (2024-5)

Dr. Rita Rio

  • David Neff is a Technician in the Chemistry Department at Marshall University. His project involves the study of biofilm community morphology and genetic composition in surface waters and community wastewater.

  • You will use imaging (gram stain light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy), PCR methods, and genome sequencing to better define the microbial composition of the biofilm. You will learn techniques to collect, process, and analyze the microbiological component of surface and community wastewater. You will also be introduced to the broader field of infectious disease epidemiology. You will gain skills in water sampling methods, analyte concentration and isolation, microscopy (EM and light microscopy), and PCR.

  • You will work in conjunction with personnel from the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System, the American Public Health Labs Surveillance Community of Practice, and the WV Bureau of Public Health. You will also collaborate with the Huntington Sanitary Board and Putnam Public Service District.

Year 1 (2024-5)

  • Dr. Rio is Professor of Biology at West Virginia University. Her research involves the tsetse fly, the obligate vector of African trypanosomes, which inflicts significant public health, economic and veterinary detriment. This model is highly relevant as tsetse pupae, a life stage associated with immense growth-oriented activity and microbiota proliferation, develop in the soil-making it very susceptible to ramifications from antibiotic runoff.

  • You will characterize the effects of antibiotic-contaminated soil on tsetse fly metamorphosis, reproductive output, and the composition and metabolism of endogenous microbiota. You will learn about insect development and physiology, medically significant vectors, microbial interactions within hosts and the significance of microbiota towards animal biology. You will receive training in transferable skills including animal husbandry, experimental design, various molecular biology techniques, survival and reproductive output analyses, next-generation sequencing, and metabolomics.

  • You will work in collaboration with other researchers in the American Society for Microbiology, Entomological Society of America, and American Society of Tropical Medicine.

WVU

Year 1 (2024-5)

WVU

  • Dr. Shakirov is Assistant Professor at Marshall University. His research investigates telomeres, the essential protein-DNA complexes that cap linear eukaryotic chromosomes and regulate cellular aging and lifespan. In this project, you will analyze the effects of environmental factors, including bacterial infections, and lifestyle choices, such as Western high fat diet, on telomere length, aging, and disease outcomes in obese/diabetic and healthy mice.

  • You will learn how to measure telomeres, investigate how pathogenic bacteria can infect susceptible but not resistant host, evaluate the interconnected effects of obesity, lifestyle factors and environmental pathogen infections on telomere length and aging. You will receive training in the research fields of cell biology, bacterial pathogenesis, and telomere biology. You will also receive hands on experience in molecular and bacteriological methods such as real-time quantitative PCR, genomic DNA extraction and analysis, bacterial infections, experimental design, statistical data analysis, and scientific writing. The project will help you develop critical thinking and strong communication skills.

  • You will work in collaboration with the research faculty at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, as well as with members of the Shakirov lab, and will have the opportunity to attend the General meeting of American Society for Microbiology and present posters/talks on your work.

MU

Dr. Shakirov is not on the ETAP application, but is available for a Year 1 project!

MU