Gayatri did fantastic work looking at organic contaminants in the North Oconee River, Georgia. I would like to thank Srimanti for her unparalleled support for this project and for mentoring Gayatri. The research focused on the detection and screening of organic contaminants in a riverine system of Georgia using a non-targeted approach. This study provides a comprehensive investigation into the ecological dynamics of the North Oconee River within Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, with a specific focus on the distribution of 33 identified compounds, including a prominent pesticide, malathion. We also investigated the biochemical transformation of malathion as a part of this project. This study is focused on environmental health and showcases a streamlined pipeline for detecting organic contaminants in river water samples. This is the first published study from the Geomicrobiology Lab, UGA. We always try to give back to the community in different ways. I believe that these are small steps towards understanding the impact of organic contaminants on environmental health (which is a part of Geohealth - a new frontier in Geology), and I hope these steps will lead to Environmental Stewardship. If you want to know more, you can find our paper at https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/11/5/89.
