Presenter

Carrie McDonough, PhD
Chemical Oceanographer and Analytical Chemist

Café Sci – Our Fluorinated Fingerprint: Interpreting patterns of PFAS in our environment and our bodies

By the late 1970s, fluorinated organics likely coming from commercial products were known to be present in human blood. However, due to the complex chemistry of per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs or "Forever Chemicals"), a complete understanding of the organofluorine burden in humans and other animals remains elusive to this day. Until we understand the sources, exposure routes, and mechanisms by which the thousands of extant PFASs accumulate in living things, we will not be able to predict or prevent associated environmental degradation or adverse health outcomes. In this talk, Dr. McDonough will outline the current state of science regarding our understanding of the PFAS body burden and highlight some promising paths forward and remaining questions.

About Carrie McDonough

Carrie McDonough is a chemical oceanographer and analytical chemist working at the intersection of environmental analytical chemistry and chemical biology. She received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2008 and her Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography (URI GSO) in 2017. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Colorado School of Mines developing high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) methods to identify and measure per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in biological samples. The McDonough Lab at CMU investigates organic pollutants, how they transported through the environment, where they end up, and their potential impacts on water quality, environmental quality, and human and ecosystem health. They use HRMS, ion mobility spectrometry, and other advanced analytical strategies to expand detection and deepen understanding of impacts of undiscovered and/or overlooked pollutants. McDonough’s work emphasizes the importance of evaluating bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and biological transformation of organic contaminants in environmental risk assessment.

Register for Café Sci

The event is FREE to attend onsite and virtually, but preregistration is required! Carnegie Science Center would like to continue to offer programs like Café Sci, Women in STEM, and others. Please consider making a donation when you register. Once you sign up, you’ll get an email confirmation. Have a question for Carrie? You’ll be able to type your questions in the Q&A section during the presentation!