Connecticut State The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

Sara L Nason

Sara L Nason

Department of Environmental Science and Forestry
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
123 Huntington Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Voice: (203) 974-8463

Email: Sara.Nason@ct.gov

 

Expertise

Dr. Nason uses liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) to detect contaminants in agricultural and environmental systems. She is interested in understanding how organic contaminants move and transform in the environment and how environmental releases of chemicals can lead to unintended human exposures and health impacts.

 

Current Research

Dr. Nason’s current projects include:

  • Examining contaminant movement and transformation in agricultural systems that use recycled wastewater for irrigation

  • Testing the effectiveness of remediation efforts for sites contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

  • Developing reliable and reproducible methods for suspect screening and non-targeted analysis studies using LC-HRMS

Past Research

Dr. Nason’s graduate work focused on mechanisms for plant accumulation of polar and ionizable organic contaminants. As a postdoctoral fellow, she focused on learning LC-HRMS techniques and examining contaminant transformation pathways in waste treatment systems.

 

Education

Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry and Technology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2017

B.S. in Geosciences, Princeton University, 2012


Postdoctoral Experience

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2018-2019

 

Station Career

Assistant Agricultural Scientist II, 2019-present

 

Selected Publications

  1. Koelmel, J., Stelben, P., McDonough, C., Dukes, D., Aristizabal-Henao, J., Nason, S., et al. (2022). FluoroMatch 2.0—making automated and comprehensive non-targeted PFAS annotation a reality. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 414(3), 1201-1215. DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03392-7

     

  2. Nason, S., Lin, E., Godri Pollitt, K., Peccia, J. (2021). Changes in Sewage Sludge Chemical Signatures During a COVID‐19 Community Lockdown, Part 2: Nontargeted Analysis of Sludge and Evaluation with COVID‐19 Metrics. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. DOI: 10.1002/etc.5226

     

  3. Nason, S., Lin, E., Eitzer, B., Koelmel, J., Peccia, J. (2021). Changes in Sewage Sludge Chemical Signatures During a COVID‐19 Community Lockdown, Part 1: Traffic, Drugs, Mental Health, and Disinfectants. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. DOI: 10.1002/etc.5217

     

  4. Nason, S., Stanley, C., PeterPaul, C., Blumenthal, M., Zuverza-Mena, N., Silliboy, R. A. (2021). community based PFAS phytoremediation project at the former Loring Airforce Base. iScience, 24(7). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102777

     

  5. Place, B., Ulrich, E., Challis, J., Chao, A., Du, B., Nason, S., et al. (2021). An Introduction to the Benchmarking and Publications for Non-Targeted Analysis Working Group. Analytical Chemistry, 93(49), 16289-16296. DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02660

     

  6. Wong, J., Wang, J., Chang, J., Chow, W., Carlson, R., Nason, S., et al. (2021). Multilaboratory Collaborative Study of a Nontarget Data Acquisition for Target Analysis (nDATA) Workflow Using Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Accurate Mass Spectrometry for Pesticide Screening in Fruits and Vegetables. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 69(44), 12300-12316. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c04437

     

  7. Hagstrom, A., Anastas, P., Boissevain, A., Borrel, A., Deziel, N., Nason, S., et al. (2021). Yale School of Public Health Symposium: An Overview of the Challenges and Opportunities Associated with Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Science of the Total Environment, 778. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146192

     

  8. Nason, S. L., Koelmel, J., Zuverza-Mena, N., Stanley, C., Tamez, C., Bowden, J. A., Godri Pollitt, K. J. (2021). Software Comparison for Nontargeted Analysis of PFAS in AFFF-Contaminated Soil. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, 32(4), 840-846. DOI: 10.1021/jasms.0c00261

     

  9. Koelmel, J. P., Paige, M. K., Aristizabal-Henao, J. J., Robey, N. M., Nason, S. L., et al. (2020). Toward Comprehensive Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Annotation Using FluoroMatch Software and Intelligent High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry Acquisition. Analytical Chemistry, 92(16), 11186-11194. DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c01591

     

  10. Nason, S. L., Miller, E., Karthikeyan, K. G., and Pedersen, J. A. (2019). Effects of Binary Mixtures and Transpiration on Accumulation of Pharmaceuticals by Spinach. Environmental Science and Technology, 53(9), 4850-4859. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05515

     

  11. Nason, S. L., Miller, E. L., Karthikeyan, K. G., and Pedersen, J. A. (2018). Plant-induced Changes to Rhizosphere pH Impact Leaf Accumulation of Lamotrigine but not Carbamazepine. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 5(6), 377-381. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00246

     

  12. Miller, E. L., Nason, S. L., Karthikeyan, K. G., and Pedersen, J. A. (2016). Root Uptake of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Product Ingredients. Environmental Science and Technology, 50(2), 525-541. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b01546