The weather changes. Your allergies flare up, so you take some Benadryl. You notice in your medicine cabinet a pesky roach. You reach under the sink for the bottle of Ortho Ultra Insect Spray. Hopefully, you would never confuse the two products, and you certainly would not take them together. It would be a lethal cocktail, for sure. But, the two active ingredients - diphenhydramine and diazinon - do end up combining in our water systems. The implications this may have on aquatic life is what one Baylor graduate student wants to know.

Lauren Kristofco, a student in Bryan Brooks' research lab in the Environmental Science program, is examining the effect of the combined exposure of diphenhydramine and diazinon in two aquatic life forms - water fleas (Daphnia magna) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). The chemicals enter our water system in a variety of ways. Some of it is unabsorbed by our bodies and excreted as waste. Old medicines are flushed down toilets, and insecticides may go down the drain or into our streams through runoff.

“Unfortunately, sewage treatment plants aren’t able to get all contaminants out of the water,” says Kristofco. “As our communities become more urbanized, higher concentrations of these contaminants may occur.”

Her study begins with the tiny water flea. It seems like an insignificant little bug, but it has a big role in the food chain. Fleas eat algae, and minnows eat the fleas. Bigger fish eat the minnows, and so on. No fleas could mean no fish, and that is just where the problems begin. This is not just a local problem. In countries with less stringent environmental protection laws, the implications could be devastating.

This is important work, and typical of the work Brooks’ lab has been producing for years. In fact, Brooks is eager to share stories about his students who are all publishing articles and winning awards. Kristofco is the most recent. At this year’s meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Kristofco won the prestigious Jeff Black Fellowship, an award given to only one Master’s student each year. Applying for fellowships and presenting at conferences is something Brooks encourages his students to do regularly.

“We are preparing our students for professional life,” says Brooks. “That means doing quality research and sharing it with a global community. We want them to have these experiences before they enter the job market, so we encourage them be active.”

For Kristofco, the process itself was good to go through. “Winning of course is great, too,” she says, “But, it was really encouraging to be at the meeting and hear people say, ‘Oh, you are at Baylor. I’ve been hearing great things about Baylor.’”

For now, it is back to the lab. Kristofco’s tests water fleas are nearly complete. One article is now published, and next semester she continues her work with zebrafish. “It’s nice that people are taking notice,” she says. “Not only of my work, but also the institution I represent. It makes you feel like you are on the right track.”

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