About This Project

Heavy metal pollution is more common than most people realize and it causes serious environmental and health problems.

Our research aims to clean up this toxic waste using organisms modified by a process called directed evolution.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Our research project's goal is to build on our current results by directing the evolution of a common bacterium, P. aeruginosa, to make it clean up heavy metal pollution in our communities. After we reach this initial goal, we plan to continue our work by producing the microbes and distributing them to polluted areas; we'll be taking an active part by actually going out and applying the valuable knowledge that we'll gain.

We will use this opportunity to establish our research team permanently. Our career goals are to continue to research and work on projects that use innovative science to improve the world around us. We hope to reduce current pollution problems, prevent future pollution, and make our world a greener and happier place.

What is the significance of this project?

Heavy metal pollution is more common that most people realize. Not limited to Superfund sites and areas of intensive industry, the problem of metal pollution can often be found right outside your home, school, or workplace. Roadways and cars are now a large source of heavy metals, with lead, copper, cadmium, and chromium being among the many metals that can be found in road runoff. You might even find them in your food.

Devastating to human health, an excess of heavy metals can result in conditions ranging from vital organ damage to reduced mental and CNS function, slowly progressing physical, muscular, and neurological degeneration akin to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, cancer, and even death. And we are not alone; the environment and the wildlife in it are all at risk as well.

Specialized microbes offer an inexpensive, efficient, and eco-friendly method of degrading the toxic waste; potentially even including the ability to recover the valuable metals once they have been detoxified. With our team of seasoned advisors, the intellectual support of our local scientific community, a lot of work, and your contributions, we are confident that this project can result in a cleaner, greener environment for all of us.

What are the goals of the project?

The majority of your contributions will go towards supplies and equipment: petri plates, growth media, an incubator, etc.

A small portion will go towards us, the researchers, so we can get the hours upon hours of work done.

The final portion will go towards moving our project from our university lab to a private lab at the Helix Center Biotech Incubator in Saint Louis, MO. There we will have access to state-of-the-art equipment, hazardous waste disposal, advanced security, and resources and connections to take our results to the next step: the creation of an inexpensive product to combat pollution and potentially reclaim valuable resources.

As contributors, you should feel confident that your money will go towards making a real, tangible difference in the world. We plan to follow this project with the creation of a sustainable bioremediation startup!