Dr. Eguono “Wayne” Omagamre is an environmental toxicologist whose research integrates chemistry, molecular biology, and environmental science to investigate the fate, biological impacts, and mitigation of PFAS in agricultural and natural ecosystems. His work spans PFAS uptake and stress responses in plants and insects, microbial and ecosystem-level interactions, and the development of innovative remediation strategies involving engineered biomaterials and sustainable intervention approaches. Beyond research, Dr. Omagamre is deeply committed to teaching, mentorship, and building interdisciplinary research experiences for students at all levels. Through the EnviToxIn Lab at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), he leads collaborative projects with researchers at institutions including UMCES, the University of Florida, Brown University, and North Dakota State University, advancing studies that range from landfill and agricultural PFAS contamination to estuarine and ecosystem health.

Fariba joined the EnviToxIn Lab in Winter 2025, bringing valuable experience in plant research and environmental stress biology. Her research focuses on advancing our ongoing soybean–PFAS project by investigating how different PFAS exposure pathways influence contaminant uptake, bioavailability, plant physiology, and rhizosphere responses in soybean systems. Using a comprehensive greenhouse framework, Fariba will examine whether PFAS accumulation and phenotypic effects differ when exposure occurs through contaminated soil, PFAS-containing irrigation water, or a combination of both pathways. Her project will also evaluate how biochar amendments and nitrification inhibition strategies influence PFAS mobility, precursor behavior, microbial community structure, and soybean root transcriptomic responses. Through the integration of plant phenotyping, soil chemistry, microbial ecology, PFAS analysis, and transcriptomics, Fariba’s work aims to generate mechanistic insight into how exposure route and soil management strategies shape PFAS behavior in agricultural systems and influence crop health and food-relevant tissue accumulation.

Isabella Beasley is an environmental scientist with a strong foundation in analytical chemistry, aquatic ecology, and environmental toxicology. Her research in the EnviToxIn Lab focuses on understanding how environmentally relevant PFAS exposures influence mosquito development, behavior, and vector ecology. Using both mixture and compound-specific PFAS exposures, Isabella investigates how these contaminants alter developmental timing, feeding behavior, and physiological responses in Culex pipiens mosquitoes.  Her work is helping to advance an emerging area of environmental health research by exploring mosquitoes not only as ecological indicators of PFAS contamination, but also as potential mediators of contaminant movement across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Through the integration of ecotoxicology, hazard-based developmental modeling, and transcriptomic analysis, Isabella’s research aims to uncover how low-level PFAS exposures may subtly reshape insect population dynamics and vector-host interactions in contaminated environments.  

Sumantee Baidya is an environmental researcher focused on developing practical, field-based solutions for PFAS contamination in agricultural systems. In the EnviToxIn Lab, she is working directly with farmers and agricultural fields with documented histories of biosolid application to investigate how PFAS move from contaminated soils into edible crop tissues under real Maryland farming conditions. Her work will advance understanding on how soil properties such as organic matter, pH, and texture influence PFAS mobility, crop uptake, and transfer into food systems under real field conditions. Her research will integrate soil chemistry, crop analysis, and biochar-based mitigation strategies to evaluate scalable approaches for reducing PFAS bioavailability while maintaining crop productivity and nutritional quality. She will also develop PFAS uptake risk models and science-based best management frameworks designed to help farmers make informed decisions about mitigation strategies in PFAS-affected soils.