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Diana Aga
Director of the UB RENEW Institute
University at Buffalo
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Chemicals of emerging concern; industrial pollution; wastewater treatment; environmental impact of PFAS ("forever chemicals"), PCBs, PBDEs (flame retardants), pesticides, nanomaterials, antimicrobials, pharmaceuticals and personal care products; antibiotic resistance in the environment; target and non-target analysis; Great Lakes pollution
Diana Aga is an environmental and analytical chemist. She can speak to the media about the environmental impact of industrial and agricultural pollutants, as well as pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
As the Henry M. Woodburn Professor in the UB Department of Chemistry, Aga leads a team that studies how a wide range of chemicals affect the environment. This work has included research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides; antimicrobials and other pharmaceuticals; endocrine-disrupting chemicals; and engineered nanomaterials.
Projects have focused on detecting known and unknown contaminants, removing them from municipal and agricultural wastewater, developing new technologies to degrade persistent organic pollutants, and understanding the impact of pollutants on the environment, humans and wildlife.
Aga’s work is local and global, ranging from studies on the bioaccumulation of pollutants in fish and common terns in the Great Lakes region, to research investigating the presence of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, antibiotics and antibiotics resistance genes in waters in the U.S., Asia and Europe. She has engaged with international institutions, including the World Health Organization, to combat antimicrobial resistance, one of the greatest threats in modern medicine and public health.
Aga is director of the UB RENEW Institute, a university-wide, multidisciplinary research institute that focuses on complex energy and environmental issues, as well as the social and economic issues with which they are connected.
LANGUAGES:
Aga can respond to interview requests in English and Tagalog.
CONTACT:
Diana Aga, PhD
Director of the UB RENEW Institute, University at Buffalo
SUNY Distinguished Professor and Henry M. Woodburn Professor of Chemistry, University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences