Paige Varner, Superfund Center trainee with Project 5, spoke at the Duke University Superfund Center Community Advisory Board’s annual meeting on July 17, 2020.
Her talk, “Using bacteria to clean up PAHs in sediment using gene transfer”, focused on Paige’s ongoing bioremediation research aimed at using native and non-native bacteria and fungi to clean up sediment and soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. The Duke Superfund Center has long-running field sites in the Elizabeth River, VA to study these PAH contaminated sites.
Paige studies how to best augment native bacteria with genetic material from other bacteria that aid in the ability to degrade PAH compounds. She is also a 2020 K.C. Donnelly Externship Award winner.
