Plant Exposure to Engineered Nanoparticles

Dr. Cyren Rico is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Missouri State University. Previously, he was a National Research Council Fellow at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Corvallis, Oregon. Dr Rico obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2014. His dissertation, Effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles on cereals: Insights on toxicity and macromolecular modifications, was supervised by Dr. Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey. He earned his MS degree in Agriculture from Kyungpook National University, Korea in 2007, and his BS degree in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines Los Baños in 2000. He works on understanding the ecological effects of nanomaterials, and his goal is to build a career in the field of analytical and environmental chemistry.

• 1. Changes in metabolite profile in plants exposed to engineered nanomaterials2. Alterations in gene expression of plants exposed to nanomaterials3. Modifications in elemental content of edible portions of plants exposed to nanomaterials4. Plant biochemical pathways sensitive to nanomaterial exposure5. Elemental and exudate profile of roots exposed to engineered nanomaterials6. Full life cycle exposure of plants to nanomaterials: Impact on physiology and biomass productivity7. Plants generational exposure to engineered nanomaterials8. C & N Isotope discrimination in plants exposed to engineered nanomaterials9. Plants co-exposure to nanomaterials and abiotic environmental stressors10. Nanomaterial transformation in root-soil interface: A function of root exudate or microbial activity?11. Risk of trophic transfer: Nanomaterial uptake and transformation in above ground plant tissue12. Risks to human health or ecological function? Lessons learned in the last ten years13. Future questions and approaches in plant-nanomaterial research