Research Interest
My overall research interest is the application of analytical chemistry in the elucidation of mechanistic and biochemical responses of plants exposed to substances/materials of undetermined toxicological nature , and its implications to environmental integrity and human health. I have worked on diverse materials such as engineered nanomaterials, sulfonylurea-based herbicides, agro-chemicals as self-incompatibility control and blossom thinner in plants, enzymatic preparations to improve saikosaponin contents in apples or enhance essential oil extractions from medicinal plants, and transformed agricultural and municipal solid wastes (pyroligneous acid, carbonized rice hull, spent mushroom substrates, biofertilizer). I have experience on testing these materials for soil and crop productivity, nutritional/quality modifications, toxicological impacts, and environment-friendly productions of food crops (rice, barley, wheat, corn, soybeans, sesame, eggplant, tomato, and chili), medicinal plants (ginseng, potchoulli, lemon grass, and Bupleurum falcatum), temperate fruit trees (apple, pear, plum, peach), and weeds/grasses (barnyard grass). I have strong background in chemistry, analytical instrumentations, and plant science. It is in the realm of these disciplines that I endeavor to make meaningful contributions to science and society.
Research Accomplishments
During my PhD, I worked on understanding the interactions of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in terrestrial environments including soils, microbes, and plants, with an aim to predict and manage impacts. ENMs are expected to enter soils via wastewater treatment biosolids, atmospheric deposition, and solid waste disposal. In soils and with plants, ENMs can impact nutrient cycling including pollutant remediation, agricultural production, food quality and safety, and water quality. ENMs may also transform, thereby affecting their transport and toxicity. My research revealed a clear picture of ENMs benefits and hazards to human health, agricultural production, and food safety, but knowledge on how their unintended hazards should be managed is still largely unknown. I conducted full life cycle assessments in plants which, to my knowledge, are pioneering studies in a handful of such studies published today.
My postdoctoral research is a continuation of my doctoral work and focuses on the intergenerational effects of nanomaterials in plants. Initial data are showing physiological, molecular and epigenetic responses in succeeding generations. For example, second generation plants exhibit changes in vegetative growth and phenological development, variations in natural abundance stable isotopes, and cold hardiness. These results are indicating that ENM exposure alters traits that may be carried from one generation to another epigenetically. To my knowledge, there are only two publications on second generation studies and none on epigenetics and isotopic studies. In summary, my research encompasses broad range of work with scientific and societal impacts. I investigated ENMs mechanisms of physiological, toxicological, molecular and biochemical responses in plants, induced epigenetics and intergenerational changes in plants, effects on soil fertility, nutrient cycling and crop productivity, uptake and accumulation in plants and potential transfer to the food chain, and impacts on food safety and human health and nutrition. Many of these findings are novel and open new research questions and opportunities, which I am keen on using to solicit funding for future researches. I hope to make scientific contributions that will fill in the huge knowledge gap in the field and potentially used for regulatory purposes leading to sustainable use and regulation of nanomaterials.
My postdoctoral research is a continuation of my doctoral work and focuses on the intergenerational effects of nanomaterials in plants. Initial data are showing physiological, molecular and epigenetic responses in succeeding generations. For example, second generation plants exhibit changes in vegetative growth and phenological development, variations in natural abundance stable isotopes, and cold hardiness. These results are indicating that ENM exposure alters traits that may be carried from one generation to another epigenetically. To my knowledge, there are only two publications on second generation studies and none on epigenetics and isotopic studies. In summary, my research encompasses broad range of work with scientific and societal impacts. I investigated ENMs mechanisms of physiological, toxicological, molecular and biochemical responses in plants, induced epigenetics and intergenerational changes in plants, effects on soil fertility, nutrient cycling and crop productivity, uptake and accumulation in plants and potential transfer to the food chain, and impacts on food safety and human health and nutrition. Many of these findings are novel and open new research questions and opportunities, which I am keen on using to solicit funding for future researches. I hope to make scientific contributions that will fill in the huge knowledge gap in the field and potentially used for regulatory purposes leading to sustainable use and regulation of nanomaterials.