Maricor Arlos, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

micropollutants fate/transport modeling toxicokinetics-toxicodynamics

About

Education

• 2014-2018: PhD Biology, Collaborative Water Program, University of Waterloo, Canada
• 2011-2013: M.A.Sc., Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE), University of Waterloo, Canada
• 2006-2011: B.A.Sc., CEE, Water Resources Option, University of Waterloo, Canada (Co-op)

Selected Awards & Distinctions (Graduate Studies)

• 2018 William B. Pearson Medal for Creative Doctoral Thesis
• 2018 UW Tri-Agency Degree Completion Award (early completion of Doctoral Thesis)
• 2018 Nominee, Alice Wilson Award
• 2017 Biology Department Teaching Assistantship (TA) Award
• 2016 Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology – Nanofellowship
• 2016 Philip Jones Award for Best Student Presentation
• 2016 Allan Holmes Scholarship (Grand River Conservation Foundation)
• 2015-2016 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (declined upon receipt of NSERC)
• 2015 Golder Associated Graduate Scholarship
• 2014 RBG Water Scholars Graduate Entrance Scholarship
• 2013 Sanford Fleming TA Award

Fellowships and Scholarships

• 2018-2020 ETH-Zürich Postdoctoral Fellowship, completed at the Swiss Federal Insitute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Department of Environmental Chemistry, Dübendorf, Switzerland
• 2018-2020 NSERC PDF to supplement ETH-Zürich PDF research
• 2015-2018 NSERC PGS-D
• 2015-2018 University of Waterloo President's Graduate Scholarship

Research

Dr. Arlos’s research is truly interdisciplinary. Her roots and skillsets are in Environmental Engineering, but she has a diversity of projects that span environmental chemistry, nanotechnology, and ecotoxicology. In 2018, she completed a diverse Ph.D. project at the University of Waterloo that involved studies on 

1. Fate and transport modelling of emerging contaminants; 
2. Environmental risk assessment of wastewater-derived estrogenic compounds; and 
3. Bench-scale testing of novel titanium dioxide nanomaterials for water treatment. 

She has won numerous awards and scholarships, including the William B. Pearson Medal for creative PhD research. 

Dr. Arlos dedicates her entire career to water research. After having been awarded the ETH-Zürich and NSERC postdoctoral fellowships, she moved to Switzerland and worked on ecological effects modelling at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology for two years (2018-2020). As an Assistant Professor in Environmental Engineering here at UAlberta, she focuses on addressing the unique water challenges that Alberta and Canada face. She particularly has a strong focus on the emerging issues associated with municipal wastewater-derived micropollutants, substances released at low concentrations into the receiving environments. Also, her work on fate/ transport and toxicokinetics modelling has benefited many aspects of ecotoxicology, and she is looking forward to contributing more to the potential remediation and regulation of trace organic contaminants in Canada. 

Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Fattahi A, Jaciw-Zurakowsky I, Srikanthan N, Bragg L, Liang R, Zhou N, Servos M, Arlos M (2021). Effect of Background Water Matrices on Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Product Removal by UV-LED/TiO2. Catalyst 11(5):576. Impact Factor [IF] = 4.15
2. Fattahi A, Arlos M, Bragg L, Liang R, Zhou N, Servos M. (2021). “Degradation of natural organic matter using Ag-P25 photocatalyst under continuous and periodic irradiation of 405 and 365 nm UV-LEDs”. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 9(1):104844. IF= 4.3.
3. Tetreault G, Kleywegt S, Marjan P, Bragg L, Arlos M, Fuzzen MLM, Smith B, Moon T, Massarsky A, Metcalfe C, Oakes K, McMaster M, Servos M. (2021). “Biological responses in fish exposed to municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent in situ”. Water Quality Research 56(2):83-99. IF = 1.5.
4. Fattahi A, Arlos M, Bragg L, Kowalczyk S, Liang R, Schneider O, Zhou N, Servos M. (2021). "Photodecomposition of pharmaceuticals and personal care products using P25 modified with Ag nanoparticles in the presence of natural organic matter". Sci. Total Environ. 752:142000. IF = 7.9.
5. Arlos M, Focks A, Hollender J, Stamm C. (2020). "Improving risk assessment by predicting the survival of field gammarids exposed to dynamic pesticide mixtures". Environ. Sci. Technol. IF = 7.9
6. Arlos M, Schuerz F, Fu Q, Lauper B, Stamm B, Hollender J. (2020). "Coupling river concentration simulations with a toxicokinetic model effectively predicts the internal concentrations of wastewater-derived micropollutants in field gammarids". Environ. Sci. Technol. 54(3): 1710-1719. IF = 7.9
7. de Wilt A, Arlos M, Servos M, Rijnaarts H, Langenhoff A, Parker W. (2020). "Improved biodegradation of pharmaceuticals after mild photocatalytic pre-treatment". Water and Environment Journal. 1:1-11. IF = 1.3
8. Liang R, Van Leuwen J, Bragg L, Arlos M, Fong L, Schneider O, Jaciw-Zurakowsky I, Fattahi A, Rathod S, Peng P, Servos M, Zhou N. (2019). "Utilizing UV-LED pulse width modulation on TiO₂ advanced oxidation processes to enhance the decomposition efficiency of pharmaceutical micropollutants". Chem. Eng. J. 361: 439-449. IF = 13.3
9. Fattahi A, Liang R, Kaur A, Schneider O, Arlos M, Peng P, Servos M, Zhou N. (2019). "Photocatalytic degradation using TiO₂-graphene nanocomposite under UV-LED illumination: Optimization using response surface methodology". J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 7(5): 103366. IF = 4.3
10. Arlos M, Parker W, Bicudo J, Law P, Hicks K, Fuzzen M, Andrews S, and Servos M. (2018). "Modeling the exposure of wild fish to endocrine active chemicals: Potential linkages of total estrogenicity to field-observed intersex". Water Res. 139: 187-197. IF = 9.1
11. Arlos M, Parker W, Bicudo J, Law P, Marjan P, Andrews S, Servos M. (2018). "Multi-year prediction of estrogenicity in municipal wastewater effluents". Sci. Total Environ. 610: 1103-1112. IF = 7.9
12. Arlos M, Liang R, Fong L, Zhou N, Ptacek C, Andrews S, Servos M. (2017). "Influence of methanol when used as a water-miscible carrier of pharmaceuticals in TiO₂ photocatalytic degradation experiments". J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 5(5): 4497-4504. IF = 4.3.
13. Hatat-Fraile M, Liang R, Arlos M, He X, Peng P, Servos M, Zhou N. (2017). "Concurrent photocatalytic and filtration processes using doped TiO₂ coated quartz fiber membranes in a photocatalytic membrane reactor". Chem. Eng. J.330: 531-540. IF = 13.3
14. Liang R, Fong L, Arlos M, Van Leeuwen J, Shahnam E, Peng P, Servos M, Zhou N. (2017). "Photocatalytic degradation using one-dimensional TiO₂ and Ag-TiO₂ nanobelts under UV-LED controlled periodic illumination". J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 5(5): 4365-4373. IF = 4.3
15. Hicks K, Fuzzen M, McCann E, Arlos M, Bragg L, Kleywegt S, Tetreault G, McMaster M, Servos M. (2017). "Reduction of intersex in a wild fish population in response to major municipal wastewater treatment plant upgrades". Environ. Sci. Technol. 51(3): 1811-1819. IF = 7.9
16. Arlos M, Liang R, Hatat-Fraile M, Bragg L, Zhou N, Servos M, and Andrews S. (2016). "Photocatalytic decomposition of selected estrogens and their estrogenic activity by UVLED irradiated TiO₂ immobilized on porous titanium sheets via thermal-chemical oxidation". J. Haz. Mat. 318: 541-550. IF = 9.0
17. Arlos M., Hatat-Fraile M, Liang R, Bragg L, Andrews S, Servos M. (2016). "Photocatalytic decomposition of organic micropollutants using immobilized TiO₂ having different isoelectric points". Wat Res. 101: 351-361. IF = 9.3
18. Arlos M, Bragg L, Parker W, Servos M. (2015). "Distribution of selected antiandrogens and pharmaceuticals in a highly impacted watershed". Water Res., in Special Issue entitled " Occurrence, fate, removal and assessment of emerging contaminants in water in the water cycle (from wastewater to drinking water)". 72: 40-50. IF = 9.3
19. Arlos M, Bragg L, Servos M, Parker W. (2014). "Simulation of the fate of selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a highly impacted reach of a Canadian watershed". Sci. Total Environ. 485: 193-204. IF = 7.9

CIV E 221 - Environmental Engineering Fundamentals

Basic mechanisms of chemistry, biology, and physics relevant to environmental engineering processes. Principles of equilibrium reactions and kinetics, mass transfer and material balances, microbial growth and kinetics, water, energy, and nutrient cycles. Applications to environmental engineering systems as biological degradation, mass and energy movement through the environment, and design of water and wastewater treatment systems. Prerequisites: CHEM 103 and CHEM 105.

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