Lexington, KY (June 11, 2018)- Congratulations to UK SRC Graduate Trainee Rishabh Shah, winner of the prestigious K.C. Donnelly Externship Award! Established in 2011 by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program, this supplemental award provides current SRP-funded graduate students and postdoctoral researchers with translational/transdisciplinary opportunities and experiences within other SRP-funded centers, government laboratories, or other agencies. For his externship, Shah will travel to Baltimore, Maryland, to work with Upal Ghosh, Ph.D., at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Shah is a second-year Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student working on Project #4: Biomimetic Magnetic Nanocomposites as a Platform Technology for the Capture and Sensing of PCBs under the guidance of Dr. J. Zach Hilt and Dr. Thomas D. Dziubla. Shah's current research aims to develop cutting-edge crosslinked polymers that can selectively capture polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds in contaminated water and soil. During his externship, Shah will expand his work in developing polymers and transfer it toward developing field monitoring approaches. This work will use Shah's novel polymers to develop field-ready advanced passive samplers for PCBs and methylmercury.