I am PhD Candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Water).  My research is focused on investigating the enantioselective behaviour of chiral pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater and surface water at the micro- and macrocosm scale. PPCPs are heavily used in the urban cores of the Grand River Watershed and enter surface waters at trace levels from wastewater treatment plant effluents. As such, there is a need to better understand their impact on aquatic life. However, the enantioselective behaviour of chiral PPCPs (e.g. anti-depressants) is often overlooked in environmental research despite enantiomers of a given compound potentially having differences in environmental fate and ecotoxicology. This research will aim to facilitate more accurate fate modelling and better design of environmental monitoring programmes for chiral PPCPs. 

My research includes a combination of fieldwork, labwork and water quality modelling. I have greatly benefited from the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of our research group, which brings together students from different departments (e.g. Civil/Environmental Engineering and Biology), and is supported by Dr. Wayne Parker and Dr. Mark Servos. My current graduate research continues to fuel my interests in wastewater treatment especially in relation to assessing whether further treatment is required with the increase in contaminants of emerging concern.