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Pradeep Prathibha, PHD Candidate Pursuing Postdoctoral or Governmental Positions in Air Quality and Exposure Assessment with Particular Interest in Work That Informs Science Policy (SU/FA 2021, Any Location)
PRADEEP S. PRATHIBHA, Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract Number: 598
Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers
Abstract
My research characterizes community-level exposure to air pollution, particularly to inform health and clinical studies. My work, under the guidance of Dr. Jay R. Turner, consists of evaluating the impact of engineered vegetative buffers on near-road air quality, characterizing intra-urban ambient air quality through fixed- and mobile-platform measurements, and evaluating biomarkers of exposure to ambient air toxic metals. My experience encompasses:
Field work
1. Managing long-term, recurring passive sampling and active monitoring deployments
2. Conducting multiple week-long mobile-platform and stationary campaigns to characterize intra-urban spatiotemporal variations in gas- and particle-phase pollutants
3. Recruiting participants for outdoor residential air quality measurements through door-to-door canvassing and sharing research outcomes with stakeholders in plain language
Lab
1. Analyzing metallic content in various matrices (PM2.5, biomarkers such as toenail, hair, blood serum) through Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry and ionic content through Ion Chromatography to meet EPA instrument performance and quality assurance guidelines
2. Developing lab safety protocols and training graduate research assistants to use IC/ICP-MS
Data Analysis and Modeling
1. Assessing environmental and instrumental parameters affecting inter- and intra-deployment agreements
2. Analyzing hyperlocal to urban-scale spatiotemporal data obtained from multi-year deployments to investigate the effects of the built environment on air pollution exposure of area residents using techniques like landuse regression modeling in ArcGIS and R.
I am a vehement proponent on adapting research to make informed public health and policy decisions. Drawing on science when weighing policy decisions should not be a matter of convenience, but rather a routine and intentional practice of relying on rigorously scrutinized data—often developed using federal or public funds. To this end, scientists and researchers, including myself, have the obligation to be persistent in the development and dissemination of science.