Maricor Arlos

Committee Members 

• Dr. Mark Servos [Biology, University of Waterloo]
• Dr. Wayne Parker [Civil Eng., University of Waterloo]

Project 

Modelling the fate of pharmaceuticals and anti-androgens in the Grand River.

Research Interests

Yes, there’s a room for engineers in Biology!  My research is on the characterization and modeling of antiandrogens and pharmaceuticals in a highly impacted reach of Grand River Watershed in Southern Ontario. Working in this department has already provided me with a lot of information on biological responses that our aquatic ecosystems experience upon exposure to various environmental stressors. Although my research is very engineering-based, I am hoping to share my engineering knowledge on contaminant fate and transport with my fellow graduate students. At the end of my Master’s program, I aim to:

• Develop a fate and transport model that can estimate the concentrations of the EDCs (both estrogens and antiandrogens) at a scale that can be utilized in support of observed biological responses within the areas of the Grand previously specified as having high risk of exposure to EDCs
• Develop an analytical method to measure the concentrations of antiandrogens in surface water to support the calibration/validation part of modeling;
• Determine the key environmental processes responsible for the distributions of antiandrogens;
• Assess the likely cause of estrogenic effects based on the concentrations modeled; and
• Estimate the overall concentration change after applying specific water management scenarios in Kitchener WWTP

Maricor is currently enrolled ina PhD at UW.