Member Profile: Jordan Partington, Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants – The University of Melbourne

Dr Sarah Richards was fundamental to Australia’s environmental field, and I am honoured to be awarded the Dr Sarah Richards Award. I would like to thank ALGA, Eurofins Scientific, Trajan Scientific and Medical, and Dr Brad Clarke for their continuing support throughout my research journey. It’s incredibly humbling to have my research recognised by such a prestigious award, and I hope the research I am undertaking can tribute such a cherished and sorely missed member of our community.

I am currently undertaking a PhD at The University of Melbourne’s Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants (ALEC) under the supervision of Dr Brad Clarke. My research is centred around the use of non-target analysis (NTA) for the discovery and detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The research I am undertaking aims to provide new workflows for PFAS measurement to industry and has the potential to redefine how we conduct environmental risk assessment. Through the support of the Dr Sarah Richards Award, I was able to purchase a computer capable of the complex data analysis to come.

We need more sophisticated methods for PFAS analysis, particularly NTA workflows due to the number of known PFAS and the even greater amount hypothesised to exist. Current routine analysis often results in underreporting which flaws environmental risk assessment. Additionally, as we are currently limited in the detection of many PFAS, our understanding of their environmental and biological outcomes is lacking, which further flaws risk assessment efforts. Ultimately, although we have learned much about PFAS, we are still blind to the extent of their environmental contamination and the threat they pose. My research aims to provide us the tools we need to address these gaps.

Current Research

I have been focusing on determining the best method for acquiring high resolution mass spectrometry data for NTA work. This has been an important starting point as it will lay the foundations to allow us to still achieve trace-level analysis of routinely monitored PFAS, whilst simultaneously determining the best approach to detect ‘known unknowns’ (suspect screening) and novel ‘unknown’ chemicals, all within a single analytical workflow.

Research Highlight

In December of 2022, I was The University of Melbourne delegate at the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar. Undoubtedly this has been the highlight of my research career. Here, I got the opportunity to attend the 2022 Nobel Prize ceremony and to also present and discuss my research with Prof. David MacMillan the 2021 chemistry Nobel laureate. The research I presented was completed during my master’s degree in conjunction with Trajan Scientific and Medical. For this work, I developed a method to measure PFAS in blood from a finger prick using the hemaPEN®. We developed the most extensive blood PFAS monitoring method whilst only requiring 11 µL of blood, which is suitable for self-sampling. This work has recently been published in Journal of Chromatography A and is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464522

What element of your work do you enjoy most?

As a researcher, I get to tackle new and unique challenges every day. This is what drew me into research at the beginning and is still what keeps me motivated to solve challenges and push the boundaries of what we know. At ALEC, we are fortunate to have access to state-of-the-art facilities and expert guidance, but it is the culture of the research team that makes ALEC special. This research team is something I have never experienced before. The ALEC team focuses on openness and collaboration, with a strong emphasis on working together. So, although I love the challenges of research, the people I get to meet and work with is what I enjoy the most.

So what’s next?

The next steps involve establishing robust practices for the identification of ‘known unknowns’ through suspect screening and developing workflows for the characterisation of novel substances. This is all based on the fundamental work I’m currently completing. Once established, I aim to streamline these workflows, such that industry can implement them. For this work, I will partner with Eurofins Scientific. I will also be applying the methods I develop to both environmental and biological samples. These efforts are to continue to establish Australia’s chemical profile and to begin to understand how the next generation of contaminants behave and interact in different systems. I will also be working with the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Melbourne to investigate the body burden of legacy, emerging, and novel PFAS.

Winning the Dr Sarah Richards Award enables me to continue this research and it is incredibly humbling to be recognised by such a prestigious award. I hope that both my research and I will honour Sarah’s legacy, and I’m eager to keep the ALGA community up to date as I progress throughout my PhD.

Article Published on 12/12/2023

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