New Mexico Highlands University sophomore James Kurui has landed a prestigious eight-week internship through the New Mexico Idea Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence to continue studying forever chemicals that are found in virtually everywhere.
Kurui, who also is a cross country runner for the Cowboys who narrowly missed qualifying for the national championship meet despite battling a season-long foot issue, is working on a project headed by Highlands Chemistry Chair Dr. Nabanita Saikia, an assistant professor of physical/computational chemistry.
The internship under the INBRE Student Experience program is open to students at universities across the state and will pay for all his expenses during the summer, allowing Kurui to put his full efforts into his research.
“I’ve already started working on it,” he said. “The molecules are very persistent in the environment.
Known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAs) compounds, they are found in “ingredients in various everyday products,” according to the national Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “For example, PFAS are used to keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and create firefighting foam that is more effective. PFAS molecules have a chain of linked carbon and fluorine atoms. Because the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest, these chemicals do not degrade easily in the environment.”
Kurui’s research will focus on categorizing the PFAs, of which more than 12,000 exist.
“I’m hoping we can establish background data for future studies into binding,” he said. “To explore the binding of these chemicals and how they may interact with nano materials.”
And that, he said, will hopefully pave the way for sensors that detect the movement of the PFA molecules in the environment, tracking them through water, soil and even the human body.
The PFAs exhibit particularly strong carbon-fluorine bonding, meaning they do not easily break down. This can lead accumulated contamination over time, and it can reach toxic levels when built up inside the body, potentially causing health ramifications.
Those health problems, while not entirely identified, include immunity issues and heart conditions and sometimes they would cause infertility in animals, Kurui said.
“We’re working on an understanding of how the molecules electrical, chemical and even optical properties of the molecules,” said Kurui, who is from Eldama Ravine, Kenya.
Kurui’s role in Dr. Saikia’s ongoing project will be creating a catalogue of the various PFAs and how the different variations drive interactions and binding mechanisms, she said.
Then the goal, using nano technology, is to determine how the most disruptive variations bond and eventually how to break down those bonds to dissipate from the environment it’s in.
Kurui’s studies are a part of a team effort that likely will last years, Dr. Saikia said, but his efforts this summer also will be a vital part of his educational experience as he gains real-life, hands-on research skills. He will be using significant computational analysis, which also is a big part of the program.
What’s more, Dr. Saikia’s project is a part of Highlands’ increasing effort to be recognized as a research institute, particularly in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) subjects.
“We’re preparing students for the STEM workforce or to go on to other, bigger universities and they’re ready for that kind of challenge,” she said. “So that’s our plan is to motivate students to reach out and get that training and that experience that they can then apply as they forward in their career. For all the faculty members, the goal is how we can involve student and how we can advance them in their careers.”