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Diana Aga

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Diana Aga
Born
Philippines
Alma materUniversity of the Philippines Los Baños
University of Kansas
ETH Zurich
AwardsSchoellkopf Medal (2017)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity at Buffalo
ThesisAnalytical applications of immunoassays in environmental and agricultural chemistry : study of the fate and transport of herbicides (1995)

Diana S. Aga is a Filipino-American chemist who is the Henry M. Woodburn Chair at the University at Buffalo. Her research considers the presence of contaminants in groundwater. She was awarded the 2017 American Chemical Society Schoellkopf Medal in recognition of her work in environmental chemistry.[1]

Early life and education

Aga was born in the Philippines. As a child, Aga wanted to be an inventor.[2] She eventually studied agricultural chemistry at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, which she graduated in 1988.[2] Aga moved to the United States for her graduate studies, where she joined the University of Kansas as a doctoral researcher. Her PhD work considered the applications of immunoassays in agricultural chemistry.[3] Whilst conducting her research she identified a pesticide metabolite present in groundwater.[2] After graduating, Aga worked briefly for the United States Geological Survey.[4] In 1996 she moved to Switzerland, where she spent two years as a postdoctoral scholar at ETH Zurich. During her early career Aga became interested in environmental chemistry, and joined the agricultural division of Bayer.[4]

Research and career

After a brief spell in industry, Aga returned to academia, and was appointed to the faculty at the University at Buffalo.[2] Soon after starting her academic career, Aga was awarded an National Science Foundation CAREER Award.[5] Her research considered the role of pesticides, and whether they were helping or harming crops.[2] She has extensively studied the presence of contaminants in ground and wastewater.[6]

Wastewater treatment plants are home to holding tanks in which bacteria are regularly exposed to the antibiotics which enter sewers after being expelled by people.[7] This exposure can result in bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, either through deactivation of the drugs or DNA exchange.[7] Aga has worked to characterise and remove antibiotics from wastewater.[7] These efforts look prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance and the multiplication of superbugs.[8] She has evaluated the levels of antibiotics in Switzerland, India, Philippines and the United States; i.e., places with/without advanced water treatment practises and which do/do not require a prescription to acquire antibiotics.[7] Aga believes that nanomaterials may offer an opportunity to safely and effectively remove antibiotics and resistant genes in wastewater.[7][9]

Aga has also studied the chemical composition of brominated flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers, BDEs), toxic chemicals which can cause brain damage, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and damage to the thyroid.[10] These BDEs are washed into the public water supply, accumulating in the food chain and eventually reaching humans through meat and fish.[10] She has shown that enzymes in the human body can break these BDEs down into a more dangerous hydoxylated form.[10]

Agar is an editor of the Elsevier Journal of Hazardous Materials.[11]

Awards and honours

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ a b "Diana Aga to receive Schoellkopf Medal". www.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  2. ^ a b c d e KORNBERG 10/28/02 5:00am, SCOTT. "Up Close and Personal With UB Professor Diana S. Aga". www.ubspectrum.com. Retrieved 2020-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Aga, Diana S (1995). Analytical applications of immunoassays in environmental and agricultural chemistry: study of the fate and transport of herbicides (Thesis). OCLC 43821680.
  4. ^ a b "Diana S. Aga". arts-sciences.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  5. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award#0233700 - CAREER: Immunochemical Techniques for Investigations on the Occurrence and Fate of Agrochemicals in the Environment". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  6. ^ "Emerging contaminants to be examined by UB professor at seminar | Fredonia.edu". www.fredonia.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Diana Aga: Faculty Expert in Chemical Pollution - University at Buffalo". www.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  8. ^ "Cleaning up a breeding ground for antimicrobial resistance". www.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  9. ^ "Water Treatment". thewaternetwork.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  10. ^ a b c "Shedding light on potential toxins that lurk in blood and breast milk". www.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  11. ^ "Journal of Hazardous Materials". Science of the Total Environment. 3 (4): 377. 1975. Bibcode:1975ScTEn...3..377.. doi:10.1016/0048-9697(75)90070-4.
  12. ^ a b c "Diana S. Aga". Conference on World Affairs. 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  13. ^ www.nywea.org http://www.nywea.org/SitePages/Membership/Awards.aspx. Retrieved 2020-11-01. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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