Fall 2025 WRRC Seminar

October 23, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Kuykendall Hall Room 201

Protecting Hawai‘i’s unique aquatic ecosystems from emerging contaminants is a central goal of aquatic toxicology. This seminar explores how microorganisms serve as essential partners in assessing contaminant fate, transformation, and toxicity in water and soil systems. Drawing from studies on heavy metals, military pollutants, and PFAS, Dr. Weila Li will discuss how microbial physiology and metabolism influence the persistence and mobility of these pollutants across environmental interfaces. Her work examines microbial strategies for detoxification, including enzymatic pathways and electron transfer mechanisms that drive contaminant degradation. Dr. Li also explores how natural materials, such as redox-active black carbon, can synergize with microbes to enhance remediation and restore ecosystem function. By integrating microbial biochemistry with environmental engineering approaches, this talk bridges fundamental microbial ecology with applied environmental toxicology. Ultimately, understanding these microbial processes provides a framework for developing predictive tools and sustainable, nature-inspired solutions to protect water quality, strengthen ecosystem resilience, and safeguard human health.


Event Sponsor
Water Resources Research Center, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Diana Hirabayashi, 808-956-3096, dianahi@hawaii.edu,

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