Team

José M. Cerrato

Bio: José M. Cerrato is Professor and Regents’ Lecturer in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering at the University of New Mexico. He obtained a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Honduras, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech. He was also a Postdoctoral Researcher in Washington University in St. Louis. He serves as Director of the UNM METALS Superfund Research Center and the UNM Community Health Allied Network for Geospatial and Environmental Science (CHANGES) Center. His research interest is related to biogeochemical processes occurring at molecular and macro scales at the interface of water, energy, and environmental health. He has been a recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, and Fulbright U.S. Scholar Senior Research Award to Spain. He currently serves as President-Elect of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP).

Geisianny Augusta Monteiro Moreira

"Dr. Moreira is an Environmental Microbiologist specializing in leveraging microbial ecology and applied electrochemistry to address global environmental challenges. With a background rooted in studying microbiome diversity in mining-impacted soils (Ph.D., University of Brasília), her expertise expanded into bioengineering during a postdoctoral fellowship at Clemson University, where she developed electrochemical biosensors for monitoring pollutants and human pathogens. Currently, as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the UNM METALS Superfund Research Center, Dr. Moreira's work focuses on fungal ecology, utilizing advanced omics and spectroscopy tools to inform bioremediation of uranium-mining legacies and develop sensing technologies for metals monitoring in surface water."

Raphael Rivadávia

Raphael is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Engineering, originally from Minas Gerais, Brazil. His research investigates the biogeochemical drivers that influence metal mobility in areas affected by acid mine drainage (AMD).

He focuses on understanding the chemical and biological mechanisms that influence the stability of metals in streams impacted by AMD, such as the Animas River in Colorado. He is particularly interested in the role of fungi, working to characterize and understand the specific role of the fungal microbiome in metal mobility.

Raphael holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering and an M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering (Water and Environmental Resources) from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil. His expertise spans environmental biogeochemistry, water quality, anaerobic wastewater processes, and bioremediation.

Outside of research, he enjoys studying psychoanalysis, listening to Brazilian Popular Music (MPB), and gardening.

Paige Haley

I am PhD student working in the Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering Program, co-advised by Dr. Eliane El Hayek and Dr. José M. Cerrato. My current research, funded by the UNM METALS Superfund Center, focuses on uranium mobility in the fine fraction of mining legacy solids under environmentally relevant conditions. I defended my M.S. Thesis titled "Chemical and Physical Properties of Fine Fractions from a Village Proximate to a Uranium Mine: Insights about Soil Health" in June 2024 which aimed to quantify the effect of heavy metal bearing particulates on the soil health in a community impacted by uranium mining.

Ashley Apodaca-Sparks

Ashley is a M.S. student advised by Dr. Jose Cerrato in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. Ashley is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and is a trainee of the UNM METALS Superfund Research Center (sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) and is affiliated with the Center for Water and the Environment. The National Science Foundation has supported her research through its Using the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges Program. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of New Mexico and will continue attending the University of New Mexico to pursue a PhD in civil engineering.

Eresay Alcantar-Velasquez

Bio: Eresay Alcantar-VelasquezI is a gradaute student, with a B.S. Geology, Kansas State University

and A.S. Liberal Arts and Sciences, Garden City Community College. She is using geochemistry to investigate the interfacial reactions between mine waste solids and wildfire ash. Results from her research will serve to help understand implications related to surface water quality regarding metal mobility. She eventually want to navigate her research to a biogeochemical approach that can capture a better picture of the reactions on a micro-scale by taking microorganisms into account.