Ms. Deanna Luneau, a fifth-year Environmental Health Sciences PhD candidate conducting her doctoral research at the Wadsworth Center, was recently featured in a student spotlight on the University at Albany College of Integrated Health Sciences website. Working under the mentorship of Dr. Patrick Parsons in the Trace Elements Laboratory at Wadsworth’s Biggs Laboratory, Ms. Luneau’s research focuses on the role of toxic metals in human health. Her doctoral work emphasizes analytical approaches to characterizing trace elements and their implications for environmental and public health.
Ms. Luneau recently presented her research, titled “Characterization of trace elements in four candidate caprine liver reference materials via an interlaboratory study,” at the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry. Her work contributes to advancing laboratory standardization and improving the reliability of trace element measurements. In the feature, Ms. Luneau highlights her motivation for pursuing environmental health sciences, outlines her academic and career trajectory, and shares her goals in advancing public health through research.