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(He/Him)
🎙 Tell us about yourself?
My name is Vaughn and I am a postdoctoral researcher working in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto. I received my Ph.D. in Environmental and Life Sciences from Trent University in 2019, where I was awarded the President's gold medal for doctoral studies. In my spare time, I enjoy swimming, running and hiking with my friends and family.
🎙 What are your research interests & what are you currently researching?
My research is fundamentally rooted in environmental analytical chemistry, where I use mass spectrometry to identify how carbon and contaminants move from terrestrial to aquatic sources and the chemical consequences at the microbial level. Working with Dr. Carl Mitchell, I am currently working on better understanding how forest harvesting in northern Ontario affects the mobilization of carbon and contaminants like mercury from the land to aquatic systems.
🎙 What is the significance of your current research?
Our work will help us understand how human activities affect how mercury and carbon move across the land. This has profound implications for predicting the conditions that may result in more mercury converted to the bioaccumulative neurotoxin methylmercury. Methylmercury is such a problem because it accumulates up the food chain to fish, and eventually, humans, posing a significant risk to human health. This research will provide more information on the consequences of human activities that can help develop management practices to minimize harm to humans and wildlife.
🎙 Are there any interesting insights/results related to your research so far?
Our work has been presented over five conference proceedings, with two manuscripts currently in peer review. Our research found that:
- Certain regions across boreal forests are more sensitive to landscape disturbance than other regions.
- There are key carbon molecules sourced from conifer trees that have an underrepresented role in transporting mercury to aquatic systems.
🎙 What aspirations do you have for your research? How do you see it being utilized?
My research can be directly applied to inform forestry best management practices that can minimize how much carbon and mercury is lost to aquatic systems after forest harvesting. We also hope that our research can provide a molecular-level understanding of the factors controlling how carbon and mercury move in Canadian boreal forests.
🎙 Is there anything else you would like to share/highlight?
Thanks to my success here at the University of Toronto and support through CERA, my career is expanding. I will be starting an assistant professorship position at Brock University this summer.