Graduate Students in the Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry Graduate Group
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Moreen Akomea-Ampeh (She/Her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: TBD |
Research Interests: I want to use interdisciplinary knowledge and my passion for chemistry to study chemical pollutants in water resources and promote access to clean drinking water through research and collaboration.
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Nazanin Akrami Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Xia Barker (Land, Air and Water Resources) |
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Chris Alaimo Track: Major Professor: |
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Aizelle Yen Argete Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Marie Heffern (Chemistry Department) |
Research Interests: Through my current research project, I am delving into the intricate interactions between soil-borne polyphenols and metals in the plant root environment. By studying these interactions, I aim to gain valuable insights into the complex mechanisms that take place between soil and plant systems. Understanding how polyphenols and metals interact in the rhizosphere can shed light on essential aspects of plant physiology, nutrient uptake, and metal tolerance.
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Brandt Bastow MSc Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Dr. Anita Oberholster (Department of Viticulture and Enology) |
Research Interests: My current research focuses on the development of a rapid secondary analytical model for quantifying volatile phenols in smoke-impacted wines using UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Additionally, I aim to create a comprehensive smoke taint index that combines instrumental analysis with sensory perception.
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David Bonnar Track: Ph.D Major Professor: |
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Blake Bryant (He/Him) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Cristina Davis (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) |
Research Interests: I am interested in environmental chemistry and toxicology. My current work involves chemical analysis of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in humans and assessing breath as a method of pathogen and pandemic predictors.
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Alyssa Burns Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Peter Hernes (Department of Land, Air and Water Resources) |
Research Interests: Alyssa investigates terrestrially-derived organic carbon transport and transformation at Arctic land-ocean interfaces as it relates to climate change. Her Alaska-based study sites extend from the Yukon River delta into the Bering Sea, and subterranean estuaries that flow into lagoon ecosystems along the Beaufort Sea coast.
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Yendry Carvajal Miranda Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Oliver Fiehn (UC Davis Genome Center) |
Research Interests: I am interested in metabolomics and my current project involves Food Biomarkers using LC-MS.
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Adrian Teodoro Castro (He/Him/His Track: Ph.D Major Professor: TBD |
Research Interests: I am interested in the formation of aerosol particles and how aerosol particles can alter the climate. I am also interested in the development in analytical tools to characterize aerosol particles.
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Jeffrey Caudill Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Swee Teh (School of Veterinary Medicine) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying the effects of pesticides on the Delta Smelt and the food web in the California River Delta. I am currently working on a biodiversity study to determine in situ effects on the food web from herbicides used on aquatic plants.
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Comfort Chukwuere Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Brett Poulin (Department of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying environmental contaminants and their impact on aquatic ecosystems. My current research project involves investigating the role of selenium in the biological uptake of methylmercury in aquatic systems.
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Stephen Corbett Track: Major Professor: |
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Jiayin Dai Track: Major Professor: |
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Angela Encerrado Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Sascha Nicklisch (Department of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying the fate and transport of xenobiotic chemicals in the unique social structure that is the honey bee hive. My current project involves working in collaboration with USDA-ARS and LLNL to trace field relevant levels of pesticides inside the honey bee hive.
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Taylor Evinger Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Brett Poulin (Department of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: My current research projects are focused on understanding biogeochemical processes governing the fate of mercury and other metals in the Arctic.
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Shuyue Fan Track: Major Professor: |
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Ryan Farley Track: Major Professor: |
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Anna Feerick (She/Her/Hers) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Tom Young (Civil and Environmental Engineering) |
Research Interests: I am interested in developing and applying new methods to detect known and unknown chemical contamination within environmental samples using nontarget analysis.
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Laura Marie Dahler Heinlein (she/her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Cort Anastasio (Department of Land, Air, & Water Resources) |
Research Interests: I study chemical reactions that happen in particles in the atmosphere when the sun shines. Currently, my focus is understanding how sunlight-driven chemistry causes particles to grow during severe winter pollution events in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Tadeh Issaian Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Spencer Walse (Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying environmentally friendly natural compounds which are as effective as their anthropogenic counterparts. My current research tests more ecological pest control methods for invasive species which threaten California’s agricultural commodities.
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Wenquig Jiang Track: Major Professor: |
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Naomi Kampen (She/Her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Anita Oberholster ( Department of Viticulture and Enology) |
Research Interests: I am studying mitigation of wildfire smoke in grape vineyards. My current work aims to establish a sensor network across the west coast of the US, and to aid in building a predictive model of wildfire risk for the California wine industry.
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Ravinder (Ravi) Kang Track: Major Professor: |
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Zachary Kawagoe Track: Major Professor: |
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Madeline Keck Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Jasquelin Pena (Civil and Environmental Engineering) |
Research Interests: I am interested in how wildfires affect water quality in forested watersheds. My current work focuses on the Cosumnes River Watershed after the Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021.
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Virginia Krause (She/Her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Brett Poulin (Department of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: I am pursuing research on trace metal contamination across aquatic environmental systems. Specifically, my work explores the production, fate, and transport of toxic methylmercury in reservoirs using field sample collection and experimentation. The goal of this research is to inform water managers of proper actions that alleviate high levels of methylmercury in fish.
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Jackelyn Lang Track: Ph.D Major Professor:Jenessa Gjeltema (Veterinary Medicine and Epidemiology) Amelie Segarra (Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology) |
Research Interests: My main interest is in the effects of pollution to aquatic organisms and ecosystems. The goal of my current research is to determine the effects of a chemical found in tire wear particles, 6PPD-quinone, to threatened and endangered fish from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. I am also interested in the use of ecological risk assessments to inform management of impaired ecosystems.
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Heather Lieb Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Ian Faloona (Land, Air, and Water Resources) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying the environmental implications of agricultural practices in California, and communicating scientific information through art. My current project addresses the impact of soil NOx emissions on air quality in the Salton Sea Air Basin. In addition, I am working with the Institute of the Environment on their Climate Art Trail.
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Lik Xian Lim Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Anita Oberholster ( Department of Viticulture and Enology) |
Research Interests: My current research focuses on understanding the threshold determination of smoke impact on wine. I also have a great interest in using sensory strategies and chemical analysis to understand the quality determinants of a food product, especially wine, and coffee.
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Yiyun Liu (She/Her/Hers) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Carlito Lebrilla (Department of Chemistry) |
Research Interests: My work utilizes LC-MS to study glycosylation, one type of post-translational modification of proteins. Currently, I am profiling the glycans on antibodies involved in autoimmune diseases. I am also interested in studying the effect of food carbohydrate on human glycosylation.
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Brianna R. Lopez Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Ron Runnebaum (Department of Viticulture & Enology) |
Research Interests: My ongoing research focuses on organic and amino acids, as well as volatile aromatic compounds in agave spirits and wine. I employ GC-MS SPME for the analysis of volatile compounds and HPLC for the assessment of organic and amino acids. Additionally, my research encompasses the fermentation processes of agave and wine, with an emphasis on adjusting redox parameters and the general enhancement of optimal fermentation practices.
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Austin Peek Lourie (He/Him/His) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Spencer Walse (Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: My research efforts are geared toward postharvest specialty crop fumigation. The postharvest movement of specialty crops to foreign markets is of vital economic importance. At any time, importing countries can confront industry with quality, quarantine, and residue requirements with the potential to terminate trade. A substantial portion of our research program is dedicated to overcoming these trade barriers that exist due to the risk of invasive insects.
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Sam Lowenhar Track: Ph.D Major Professor: TBD |
Research Interests: I am interested in solving agricultural problems with analytical tools. I currently do not have a project but I specifically interested in quality control, upcycling, and toxicology.
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Madison (Madi) Mathers Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Peter Hernes (Land, Air & Water Resources) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying ecosystems impacted by anthropogenic climate change. Currently I am researching particulate organic carbon in the particle-starved Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. My research focuses on quantifying sources of particulates within the organic matter pool, characterizing the forms of these particles, and assessing quality of particulates as a food source.
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Shayne Morrissey Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Christopher Simmons (Food Science and Technology) |
Research Interests: My research interests lie in developing sustainable agricultural practices, while lowering pesticide and synthetic fertilizer application. My current projects focus on employing cover crops as a soil amendment to control agricultural pests using a technique called biosolarization.
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Anthony Mueller Track: Major Professor: |
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Jeff Murray Track: Masters Major Professor: TBD |
Research Interests: My research interests are in the interactions between humans and aquatic systems.
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Catrina Negut Track: Masters Major Professor: Selina Wang (Food Science and Technology) |
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Christopher Niedek Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Qi Zhang (Department of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: I am interested in developing novel methodologies for offline aerosol mass spectrometry studies. My current projects involve 1) the investigation of biomass burning, aqueous phase secondary organic aerosol formation under aerosol liquid water conditions and 2) the use of uncrewed aerial systems for the chemical analysis of boundary layer particulate matter.
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Elise Palombella (She/Her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Chris Cappa (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) |
Research Interests: I am interested in reducing uncertainties associated with natural aerosol production and processing. My current project focuses on two different aerosol types emitted from the ocean and how their physicochemical properties affect their respective behaviors in the marine atmosphere and beyond.
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Bofeng Pan Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Gang Sun (Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering) |
Research Interests: I am currently engaged in the development of innovative biosensors, designed for detecting a diverse range of targets, from environmental toxicants and pathogens to various biomarkers.
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Angela Petersen Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Tran Nguyen (Dept. of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: My interest lies in the interaction of aerosols and clouds (aerosol indirect effect) which is considered to have the highest uncertainty in society’s understanding of climate change. Currently I am trying to determine the mechanism contributing to the formation of sulfur radicals.
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Erik Rangel Rivera Track: Major Professor: |
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Nicholas Robertson Track: Ph.D Major Professor: TBD |
Research Interests: I am interested in applications of analytical chemistry that identify and address current issues in environmental toxicology.
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Amanda Rodriguez Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Cristina Lazcano (Department of Land, Air, and Water Resoruces) |
Research Interests: I am focused on evaluating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community abundance and diversity on grapevines spanning from Oregon to California.
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Alicia Ross (She/Her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Dean Tantillo (Chemistry Department) |
Research Interests: I am interested in using computational chemistry methods to answer mechanistic questions in various chemistry applications. Some of my current projects involve computing NMR shifts and elucidating mechanistic steps in different types of reactions.
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Brittany Saleeby Track: Major Professor: |
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Chenkang Shen (He/Him/His) Track: Masters Major Professor: TBD |
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Nutthakarn Soisaeng Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Dean Tantillo (Department of Chemistry) |
Research Interests: I am working on computational chemistry. My current projects involve predicting spectroscopic properties such as NMR chemical shifts and spin-spin coupling constants.
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Zeke Spooner Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Sascha Nicklisch (Department of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: I am interested in marine pollutant toxicity and accumulation in fish. For my current research project, I am quantifying microplastic leachate accumulation in California rockfish.
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Emily Steliotes (She/Her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Chris Simmons (Department of Food Science and Technology) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying the emerging fields of foodomics and food informatics. My current project involves building semantic data models to describe the chemical composition of foods and food waste streams.
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Veronica Suarez Romero Track: Major Professor: |
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Ania Szlembarska (She/Her) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Brett Poulin (Department of Environmental Toxicology) |
Research Interests: I’m interested in studying mercury biogeochemical cycling in aquatic ecosystems. My current project focuses on mercury in the coastal portion of Everglades National Park.
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Minyuan Wang Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Gang-Yu Liu (Chemistry) Gang Sun (Biochemical Engineering) |
Research Interests: Nano Technology/Material Science
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Yu Wang (She/Her/Hers) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Daniela Barile (Food Science and Technology) |
Research Interests: I work on characterization and quantitation of oligosaccharides, which is a class of non-digestible carbohydrates that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. My current project focuses on investigating how genetics impact the milk oligosaccharides structure and abundance in Finnish cattle.
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Eli Wooliever Track: Major Professor: |
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Chengpeng Xu (He/Him/His) Track: PhD Major Professor: Bruce Hammock (Department of Entomology and Nematology) |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying the impact of oxylipin on human health and elucidating the metabolic pathways of bioactive lipid metabolites. My current project is about designing new enzyme inhibitors to preserve the level of critical epoxy fatty acids and analyzing the metabolism of the enzyme inhibitors.
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Antai Zhang (He/Him/His) Track: PhD Major Professor: Qi Zhang |
Research Interests: I am interested in studying organic molecules present in aerosol liquid water and their formation process.
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Zewen Zheng (He/Him) Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Chris Cappa (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) |
Research Interests: I’m interested in studying the optical properties of atmospheric aerosols and their effects on climate forcing. My current project focuses on black and brown carbon, and explores how humidification will affect their light absorption when they’re mixed with hygroscopic material.
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Yuejun Zhou Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Mike Kleeman (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) |
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Zoe Zingler Track: Ph.D Major Professor: Cristina Davis (Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering) |
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| Name | Major Professor | Major Professor Home Department | UCD
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| Aguilera, Andrea | Green, Peter | Civil & Environmental Engineering | |
| Akrami, Nazanin | Barker, Xia | LAWR | |
| Alaimo, Chris | Young, Tom | Civil & Environmental Engineering | |
| Arciva, Stephanie | Anastasio, Cort | LAWR | |
| Bonnar, David | Tjeerdema, Ron | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Burns, Alyssa | Hernes, Peter | LAWR | |
| Caudill, Jeffrey | Teh, Swee | Anatomy, Physiology, & Cell Biology | |
| Cook, Bryce | Poulin, Brett | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Corbett, Stephen | Walse, Spencer | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Dai, Jiayin | TBD | ||
| Encerrado, Angela | Nicklisch, Sascha | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Evinger, Taylor | Poulin, Brett | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Farley, Ryan | Zhang, Qi | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Feerick, Anna | Young, Tom | Civil & Environmental Engineering | |
| Green, Hilary | Wang, Selina | Food Science & Technology | |
| Gross, Nicole | Nguyen, Tran | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Heinlein, Laura | Anastasio, Cort | LAWR | |
| Henderson, Alice | Green, Peter | Civil & Environmental Engineering | |
| Jiang, Wenqing | Zhang, Qi | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Kampen, Naomi | Oberholster, Anita | Viticulture & Enology | |
| Kang, Ravinder (Ravi) | Franz, Annaliese | Chemistry | |
| Kawagoe, Zachary | Walse, Spencer | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Keck, Madeline | |||
| Krause, Virginia | Poulin, Brett | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Lang, Jackelyn | Gjeltema, Jenessa | Veterinary Medicine | |
| Lieb, Heather | Faloona, Ian | LAWR | |
| Lourie, Austin | Walse, Spencer | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Ma, Lan | Anastasio, Cort | LAWR | |
| Mathers, Madison (Madi) | Hernes, Peter | LAWR | |
| Michel, Matthew | Nicklisch, Sascha | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Morrissey, Shayne | Simmons, Christopher | Food Science & Technology | |
| Niedek, Christopher | Zhang, Qi | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Palombella, Elise | Cappa, Christopher | Civil & Environmental Engineering | |
| Pan, Bofeng | Sun, Gang | Textiles & Clothing | |
| Pham, Hoang | Hammock, Bruce | Entomology & Nematology | |
| Rangel Rivera, Erik | Walse, Spencer | Environmental Toxicology | |
| Rodriguez, Amanda | TBD | ||
| Ross, Alicia | Tantillo, Dean | Chemistry | |
| Saleeby, Brittany | Young, Tom | Civil & Environmental Engineering | |
| Singh, Nalin | Hammock, Bruce | Entomology & Nematology | |
| Soisaeng, Nutthakarn | Jasquelin Pena | Civil & Environmental Engineering | |
| Steliotes, Emily | Simmons, Christopher | Food Science & Technology | |
| Suarez Romero, Veronica | Horwath, William | LAWR | |
| Wang, Minyuan | Sun, Gang/Liu, Gang-Yu | Textiles & Clothing | |
| Wang, Yu | Barile, Daniela | Food Science & Technology | |
| Zheng, Zewen | Cappa, Christopher | Civil & Environmental Engineering |