Meet the Microbiologist25 Helmi 2009

MTS18 - Elizabeth Edwards - Cleaning Up Solvents in Groundwater

Elizabeth Edwards knows that nothing is simple or easy when it comes to cleaning up toxic waste, but Edwards, a professor of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto, is looking for ways to harness microbes to do our dirty work for us. Dr. Edward’s research focuses on the biodegradation of chlorinated solvents in the environment – the means by which microbes can actually make a living by eating our noxious waste.

Chlorinated solvents like trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), and others, have a sordid history in the environment. They have long been used as degreasers and dry cleaning fluid, but before there were regulations about how to handle waste, manufacturers and dry cleaners dumped old, dirty solvents in evaporation ponds or out the back door of the facility. Some of the fluid dumped this way evaporated, but since chlorinated solvents are both dense and recalcitrant, much of the liquid seeped straight down to the groundwater. And stayed there. Among other projects, Dr. Edwards is looking at the ability of mixed cultures of bacteria to break down these solvents in a step-wise process, with the expectation that we’ll eventually be able to treat the contamination at some sites with injections of microbes.

In this interview, Dr. Merry Buckley talks with Dr. Edwards about why chlorinated solvents are such a difficult environmental problem, how working in environmental consulting for a time helped her realize where she wanted to focus her research, and why we might have to make some tough decisions when it comes to cleaning up the hundreds (thousands?) of solvent-contaminated sites in North America.

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The Value of Curiosity-Driven Research: Mechanism Discovery With Glen McGugan

Glen McGugan, Ph.D., Director of ASM's Mechanism Discovery Unit, discusses how curiosity‑driven research—from parasite virulence to CRISPR and complex microbial systems—drives tomorrow's breakthroughs...

11 Touko 51min

Diagnostics in Action: Telling Microbial Stories

Andrea Prinzi, Ph.D., MPH, SM(ASCP), and Rodney Rohde, Ph.D.,SM(ASCP)CM, SVCM, trace how passion‑driven, nonlinear paths in clinical microbiology led them from hospital benches and public health labs ...

17 Huhti 44min

Decoding the Pneumococcal Capsule With Moon Nahm

Moon Nahm, M.D., professor emeritus at UAB Department of Medicine and Director of the World Health Organization's Pneumococcal Serology Reference Laboratory at UAB, discusses his career in pneumococca...

28 Maalis 42min

From Earth to Orbit: Applied and Environmental Microbiology With Veronica Garcia

From leading R&D at a biotech startup company to conducting environmental monitoring for NASA, Veronica Garcia, Ph.D., Scientific Director of the ASM Applied and Environmental Microbiology unit shares...

13 Helmi 35min

Unraveling Introns and Expectations With Marlene Belfort, Ph.D.

Marlene Belfort, Ph.D., a distinguished professor at the University at Albany and author of Mommy, Can Boys Also Be Doctors?, discusses her journey in science, balancing personal and professional life...

24 Tammi 45min

The Gut Healing Power of Microbes and Cruciferous Vegetables

Episode Summary Sue Ishaq, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Microbiomes at the University of Maine, discusses how gut microbes transform seemingly inert plant compounds—like glucosinolates found in brocc...

24 Loka 202542min

Preventing Foodborne Pathogens With Plant-Derived Compounds with Karl Matthews

Karl Matthews, Ph.D., Professor of Microbial Food Safety at Rutgers University, discusses ways to eliminate pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria from fresh fruits and vegetables. He...

25 Syys 202559min

Early Microbial Life with Michael Lynch and Vaughn Cooper

Michael Lynch, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Mechanisms of Evolution at Arizona State University and Vaughn Cooper, Ph.D., professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pit...

22 Elo 202540min