Randolph Reyes Singh, PhD '17

Degree: PhD in Chemistry
Advisor: Professor Diana S. Aga
Thesis Title: "Many doors, one key. Addressing ecotoxicological, engineering, environmental, and toxicological questions using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry"

Describe the timeline of your professional life since graduation from UB.
After graduation, I started a postdoc position at the National Exposure Research Laboratory under the United States Environmental Protection Agency with funding coming from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education program.

Describe your position and your responsibilities (i.e. What do you do?).
As a member of the non-targeted analysis group, my job has been to develop new methods that can be applied in the identification of harmful substances in matrices that the general public get exposed to on a daily basis like water, food, and dust. We also apply the same approach in analyzing human serum.

What in your experience at UB prepared you the most for your career?
The strong theoretical background and hands-on training on different kinds of instrumentation, specifically mass spectrometers and LCs, the interactions with my peers, advisor, and other committee members, and the countless opportunities for collaboration all aided tremendously to the success of my contributions to the EPA.

Can you offer a few words of advice for current UB students?
In addition to keeping work-life balance and staying curious, initiate discussions both with your peers and the faculty, attend seminars that are not on your specific field, and just keep swimming!