A self-proclaimed “soil microbe enthusiast” who spent her formative years on an acreage in rural British Columbia, graduate student Ashlee Titus has always had a deep appreciation for nature.
“For years, I’ve been fascinated by contaminated soils,” explains the Master of Engineering student and UBC Okanagan alumna. “In my hometown, some areas are polluted because of necessary industrial processes, and I’ve always been interested in one day cleaning that up.
“When I learned about Dr. (Sumi) Siddiqua’s work in this area, I knew I had to be a part of it.”
Bridging her undergraduate experience in biochemistry with engineering, Titus is working on a project that could alter how contaminated soils are remediated.
Dr. Sumi Siddiqua (left) and master’s student Ashlee Titus.
Under Dr. Siddiqua’s supervision in the Advanced Geomaterials Research Lab, Titus is exploring the potential of organisms such as microbes and fungi in removing heavy metals from contaminated soils.
The pollutants are dangerous to humans, plants and animals, and they destabilize soils by negatively affecting nutrient balance and pH.
According to Titus, current soil remediation methods are expensive and sometimes generate additional toxic waste, making finding a more sustainable option imperative.
“Microbes have been around a lot longer than us,” explains Titus. “Our goal is to leverage the natural capabilities of Mother Earth to extract contaminants without leaving behind a harmful footprint.”
Why should we care about soil, anyway?
If there’s one thing Dr. Siddiqua wants people to know about soil, it’s a critical but limited resource.
“Soil is essential for life on Earth,” she explains. “Without healthy soil, we can’t grow food, construct buildings or capture the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“It might seem like an inert material, but one teaspoon of healthy soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth, so we need to protect this precious resource.”
It can take hundreds of millions of years for soil to form and up to 1,000 years to create just one centimetre of topsoil.
Soils depleted of nutrients through careless use can disrupt the balance of an entire ecosystem. According to the Soil Conservation Council of Canada, soil erosion costs Canadians $3 billion annually, making research like Dr. Siddiqua’s much more crucial.
“Soil is different from location to location, so the soil under your home may not be the same as your neighbour’s house,” Dr. Siddiqua adds.
“That’s what makes working with soil so exciting. Each location has different kinds of research, collaborations and challenges.”
Turning research into real-world impact
Dr. Siddiqua’s lab work spans soil stabilization, environmental remediation and waste material valorization (recycling, reusing or converting waste materials into resources).
The diverse research includes local and global experts in electrical, civil, mechanical and geotechnical engineering, biology and chemistry. She also has industry partnerships ranging from municipal projects with the City of Kelowna to international collaborations in Finland, India and the United States.
Dr. Siddiqua says this level of interdisciplinarity is crucial to finding solutions.
“These issues can’t be solved in isolation, so we don’t limit ourselves to traditional engineering,” she explains.
Take graduate student Titus, who brings more than five years of experience in the biochemistry industry to Dr. Siddiqua’s research about microbe and fungi use in soil.
Other students are focusing on projects to sequester carbon dioxide in soil, develop composites to absorb micro- and nano-plastics from soil and groundwater, and generally find a better use for waste products so they can be upcycled and used in different applications.
“At the end of the day, we’re not just here to publish papers; we need applicability of our work. Communities need to be able to implement these solutions, whether it’s designing stronger, more sustainable infrastructure or finding ways to minimize industrial waste,” Dr. Siddiqua says.
Titus couldn’t agree more. “Dr. Siddiqua’s lab is where scientific research meets real-world application, and I’m excited to be part of it.”
