Superfund Research Program

July 2023

Exploring how chemical contaminants move through the environment and affect aquatic food webs, Upal Ghosh, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), aims to develop and implement technologies to help ecosystems recover from pollution.

Upal Ghosh, Ph.D.
Ghosh is a professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering at UMBC, where his research group explores the fundamental processes that control pollutant fate in soils, sediments, and aquatic environments. (Photo courtesy of Upal Ghosh)

Ghosh, an NIEHS grantee since 2007, studies contaminants called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which can build up in organisms over time, including the food chain. Ghosh assesses pollutant bioavailability, or the amount of a contaminant available for uptake by fish and other organisms, with a particular focus on PCBs.

“During my undergraduate studies in chemical engineering, I got to visit different industrial sites and understand how we produce chemicals in bulk,” Ghosh said. “Although chemical industries provide many benefits for people, I was disappointed to see the problems that occur when chemicals like PCBs are mismanaged and enter the environment.”

To learn more, see the NIEHS Environmental Factor Newsletter