Arlos Research Group
University of Alberta
Meet the Team
Maricor Arlos
Dr. Arlos’ research is truly interdisciplinary. Her roots and skillsets are in Environmental Engineering, but she has a diversity of projects that span environmental chemistry, nanotechnology, and ecotoxicology. Dr. Arlos dedicates her entire career to water research. She particularly has a strong focus on the emerging issues associated with municipal wastewater-derived micropollutants, substances released at low concentrations into the receiving environments. Also, her work on fate/ transport and toxicokinetics modelling has benefited many aspects of ecotoxicology, and she is looking forward to contributing more to the potential remediation and regulation of trace organic contaminants in Canada.
Afrida Nurain (MSc Candidate)
Afrida is an international student currently doing her Master of Science in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. She completed her undergrad in Environmental Sciences at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. Her research concentrates on investigating the sorption/desorption mechanisms of target organic compounds in micro and nano plastics in the aqueous environment and fish tissue. Afrida loves to read adventure and mystery fiction.
Daniela Pulgarin Zapata (MSc Candidate)
Daniela is the newest addition to the Arlos team! She started her MSc studies in Environmental Engineering in September 2021. Daniela is from Colombia. We are extremely excited to have her be part of the group. Her research focus is on the bioaccumulation potential of emerging substances of concern. She will mainly use the artificial streams facility to investigate her research questions.
Fei Cheng (MSc Candidate)
Fei (she/her) is an international student from Guangzhou, China. She recently transferred from the course-based master to the thesis-based master program in Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Civil Environmental Engineering in 2021 also at the University of Alberta. She is particularly interested in investigating the potential and feasibility of treating and reusing industrial waste and converting waste into beneficial products. She likes walking around the campus and enjoying the beautiful North Saskatchewan River scenery in her spare time.
Emily Quecke (PhD Candidate)
Emily Quecke (she/they) is an environmental engineer, currently working as a research assistant in the Arlos lab at the University of Alberta. Emily completed their undergraduate environmental engineering degree - cooperative program at the UofA in 2018. She then continued to complete her MSc in the air quality characterization and control group in the civil and environmental engineering department with co-supervision out of preventative medicine. Her thesis was on the topic of mask performance and use for the control of COVID-19 transmission, combining air quality engineering with exposure sciences. They will be starting their PhD degree in September, hoping to merge environmental engineering with sociology and community-based research. Emily is passionate about air quality, exposure science, water quality and access, community health, indigenous activism and collaborative research. In her spare time Emily enjoys reading, writes poetry and plays roller derby and tackle football.
Demi Meier (Research Assistant)
Demi is a Research Assistant in the Arlos Lab. She completed her Bachelor's in Animal Health Science at the University of Alberta. Demi wants to get more involved in the science community and explore the world of research. She was a summer intern through the I-steam program in 2021. The experiment Demi got involved with was assisting Afrida Nurain in the microplastic research. So far, she is the tallest of the Arlos tea. She also has 6 younger sisters she hopes to inspire.
Winter 2022 M. Eng. Student
Alison Deas
Alison completed her Master of Engineering student in Environmental Engineering and Science at the University of Albertain May 2022. She also holds a Bachelor degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Alberta. Alison’s key interests are in municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment operations, management of environmental systems, and pollution control. Alison will be completing her Capstone research by collaborating with Dr. Arlos and her team on the Bow River projects. Outside of her professional life, Alison enjoys backcountry camping, sailing, and spending time with her beloved dog.
Winter 2022 Dean's Research Award Students
Katrina completed her Dean's Research Award with the Arlos Lab in Winter 2022. She worked on the mass balance analysis of micropollutant loading into the urban sections of the Bow River in Calgary . She was able to connect with the whole team and expand her knowledge in the water resources field of engineering. She loves watching Grey’s Anatomy and The Office while studying!
Katrina Cereno
![IMG_0089[3670].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3934c_73150f7633594d6ea1fe98f6f81f9c7d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_245,h_240,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/b3934c_73150f7633594d6ea1fe98f6f81f9c7d~mv2.jpg)
Pramaya Kannel
Pramaya is an undergraduate co-op student pursuing a BSc in Civil Engineering. He is passionate about societal development through use of sustainable water, land and air resources. For his DRA, he worked with Dr. Arlos visualizing and analyzing trends of Athabasca River Oil Sands Monitoring project. Pramaya is a huge soccer fan and enjoys outdoors.
Former Lab Members
Kia Barrow (MSc Candidate)
Kia completed her MSc in Environmental Engineering in September 2022. In light of recent developments regarding the potential discharge of treated oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), Kia's research looks at predicting the ecotoxicological impacts of treated and untreated OSPW on receiving aquatic environments. She is passionate about water quality as she believes that no community, especially BIPOC communities, should be forced to live in physical environments where they do not have easy access to clean water. This encourages her while doing her research as she hopes to see what the impacts of the treated OSPW will be on the Athabasca River, an important river system for animals and humans alike.
Kyra Jubinville
Summer 2021
Kyra was involved with Kia's work on Naphthenic Acids in the Athabasca River. She is attending her fourth year of school at the University of Alberta to obtain her BSc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is set to finish her degree in the spring of 2023. Kyra is a third-generation pilot, having completed her private pilot's license when she was 17. She hopes to get more certifications after finishing her engineering degree. Kyra enjoys the outdoors and gardening of all types.
Seth Bumagat
Summer 2021, Fall 2021
Seth is an undergraduate co-op student pursuing a B.Sc in Chemical Engineering. His interests lie in the intersections of engineering and public health and started working with the Arlos Research Lab after receiving a Dean's Research Award. During the tenure of his DRA, he sought to discover spatiotemporal trends of pharmaceuticals in the Bow River in Calgary using data from a municipal partner. Through his co-op term, which is partially funded by an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, he continues his research on the Bow River to help support the Arlos Research Lab's efforts to monitor the fate and transport of micropollutants in the Bow River. His favourite show is Modern Family!
Jiangboyuan (Alex) Zhou
Fall 2021
Alex is a 4th-year undergraduate co-op student pursuing a BS.c in Civil-Environmental Engineering. He's currently conducting a Dean's Research Award (DRA) in the Arlos Research Group (Fall 2021). His research project is to evaluate the estrogenicity patterns within the municipal wastewater treatment plants in Calgary and quantify the extent to which estrogenic micropollutants can be removed by conventional and advanced wastewater treatment systems.
