Committee

Dr. Stacey Harper

Dr. Stacey Harper is a Professor in the Department of Environmental & Molecular Toxicology and the School of Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University.  Studies in the Harper laboratory use rapid assays with whole organisms and communities of organisms to evaluate the toxic potential of diverse nanomaterials, including micro- and nanoplastics.  Dr. Harper served as president for the Pacific Northwest Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (PNW SETAC) from 2020-2021 and past president from 2021-2023.  She is a member of the steering committee for the SETAC Nano Interest Group Steering Committee and is a member of the Microplastics Interest Group. She also serves as a co-leader of the Pacific Northwest Consortium on Plastics and was recognized by the US National Nanotechnology Coordination Office as one of the outstanding women in nanotechnology in 2019. 

 

Dr. Jamie DeWitt

Jamie DeWitt is a Professor in EMT and also directs the Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Environmental Health Research. Her laboratory’s research focuses on immunotoxicity of emerging chemical contaminants.

 

Dr. Serhan Mermer

Mermer lab focuses on the toxicology, chemistry, and risk assessment, and communication of agrochemicals and pesticides in the environment, agriculture, and human health. Mermer measures pesticide levels in various matrices using analytical methods including HRMS, and LC-MS. Our goal is to integrate research from toxicology and chemistry into a program that promotes sustainable agriculture and supports science-based decision-making for stakeholders.

 

Dr. Lisa Truong

Dr. Lisa Truong is an Associate Professor of Toxicology at Oregon State University, where she specializes in pioneering advancements in computational toxicology and predictive modeling using the zebrafish model. With a Bachelor's degree in Pre-pharmacy, a Master's focused on fluorinated compounds, a PhD centered on developing rapid in vivo assays using zebrafish, and a Masters in Business Administration, Dr. Truong brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the field.

As Deputy Director of the Sinnhuber Aquatic Research Laboratory (SARL) and Director of the OSU EHS Zebrafish Biomedical Research Facility Core, Dr. Truong is transforming the field of toxicology through sophisticated computational predictive models based on toxicity pathways. Throughout her career, Dr. Truong has been instrumental in automating the zebrafish developmental toxicity screen and developing robust statistical methodologies to integrate multi-dimensional phenotypic and expression data. Her innovative work in computational approaches and high-throughput screening has established the zebrafish as a leading model in environmental health sciences research, advancing our understanding of chemical toxicity while reducing reliance on traditional testing methods.

With a passion for computational toxicology and a commitment to innovative research approaches, Dr. Truong continues to pioneer new methods for understanding and predicting chemical safety to foster a safer and more sustainable world.

 

Dr. Manuel Garcia-Jaramillo

I am an environmental health scientist specializing in environmental chemistry and toxicology, working alongside engineers, microbiologists, and epidemiologists to pioneer advancements in water quality and to explore connections between water contaminants, gut microbiome, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Together, we are dedicated to protecting public health and ensuring the safety of water resources across natural, urban, and rural settings.

I began my academic studies with a B.S. in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Biotechnology. After earning an M.S. in Biology Education (2010) and an M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (2012), I completed a Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry (2015) from the University of Seville. I started my postdoctoral training at Oregon State University (OSU) in 2016 at the Linus Pauling Institute. In 2017 joined the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at OSU as a Research Associate, and in 2018 the OSU Mass Spectrometry Center as a Project Specialist. The same year, I was awarded a 2-year USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship; and, in 2020, a NIH R90 Postdoctoral Fellowship.

In 2021, I joined the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at OSU. My lab relies on state-of-the-art high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), combining suspect and non-target screening (NTS) to help expand the coverage of current water monitoring strategies. We combine a risk-based approach with effects-directed analysis (EDA), for the identification of emerging toxic chemical contaminants in water and their prioritization based on bioactivity, bioaccumulation, persistence, and environmental concentrations. In addition, we use targeted and non-targeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and lipidomics analyses, combined with genomics techniques, to better understand the impact of contaminants on animals and human health.