Faculty
Basic Introduction:
Dr. Zheng is an Associate Professor (tenure-track) at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology. He is a national-level overseas high-level talent and a member of the Shenzhen Youth Peacock Team. He obtained his Bachelor's and PhD degrees from Sun Yat-sen University and Peking University, respectively, and conducted postdoctoral research at Indiana University in the United States. Dr. Zheng has long been engaged in environmental analytical chemistry, focusing on the development of targeted and non-targeted analytical techniques for new pollutants based on mass spectrometry. His research evaluates the migration, transformation, and human exposure levels of pollutants in the environment, while also investigating key metabolically toxic molecules of new pollutants in the human body. He has published nearly 40 SCI papers, including 19 as the first or corresponding author, in top international journals such as PNAS, Environmental Science & Technology (7 papers), and Environmental Science & Technology Letters (3 papers). His work includes 3 highly cited papers and 1 hot paper. His series of achievements have been widely reported by media outlets such as CNN, The Guardian, Yahoo, and C&EN. The bioaccumulation prediction model he developed has been applied by the Pollution Prevention Division of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China for chemical management. His research on the contamination of perfluorinated compounds in breast milk served as direct evidence that prompted Washington State to become the first state government in the U.S. to sign a comprehensive ban on perfluorinated compounds. Dr. Zheng has received several awards, including the Best Paper Award from the International Society of Exposure Science (2022), the Best Paper Award from Environmental Science & Technology (2023 and 2021), the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award from Peking University (2018), and the First Prize of the Tang Xiaoyan Environmental Science Innovation Award (2018). He has led projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation. Additionally, he serves on the Early Career Editorial Board for the Journal of Hazardous Materials and Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances.
Website: https://faculty.sustech.edu.cn/zhenggm/en/
Professional Experience:
2022-present, Associate Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology, China
2021-2022, Assistant Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology, China
2018-2021, Postdoctoral Associate, Indiana University, USA
Education:
2012-2018, Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, Peking University, China
2008-2012, B.S. in Environmental Science, Sun-Yet-Sen University, China
Synergistic Activities:
1. Journal of Hazardous Materials, Early Career Editorial Board
2. Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances, Early Career Editorial Board
Honors and Awards:
1. the Best Paper Award from the International Society of Exposure Science (2022)
2. the Best Paper Award from Environmental Science & Technology (2023 and 2021)
3. the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award from Peking University (2018)
4. the First Prize of the Tang Xiaoyan Environmental Science Innovation Award (2018)
Research Interests:
1. Nontarget screening of emerging contaminants
2. Environmental fate of emerging contaminants
3. Human exposure
4. Metabolic toxicity
5. High-resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolomics
Selected funded projects:
1. Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Overseas) (Principal Investigator, 2023-2025)
2. National Natural Science Foundation of China General Project (Principal Investigator, 2025-2028, 22476080)
3. Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation General Project (Principal Investigator, 2025-2027, 22476080)
4. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund (Principal Investigator, 2023-2025, Project Number: 22206071)
Teaching (Courses and outstanding students)：
1. Environmental Mass Spectrometry
2. Environment and Health
Published Works:
1. Cheng, Y.; Lv, Z.; Schreder, E.; Hu, M.; Mutic, A.; Zheng, G.*; Salamova, A.* Elevated Concentrations of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Childcare Centers: A Pilot Study. Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters 2025, 100138.
2. Hu, M.; Li, L.; Lv, Z.; Sangion, A.; Zheng, G.*; Cai, Z.; Salamova, A.* Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Paired Samples of Blood and Indoor Dust from the United States. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2024, 11, 1308–1313.
3. Liu, C.; Wan, S.; Cheng, Y.; Lv, Z.; Luo, S.; Liang, Y.; Xie, Y.; Leng, X.; Hu, M.; Zhang, B.; Yang, X.; Zheng, G.* Occurrence, Sources, and Human Exposure Assessment of Amine-Based Rubber Additives in Dust from Various Micro-Environments in South China. Science of The Total Environment 2024, 955, 177023–177023.
4. Cheng, Y.; Liu, C.; Lv, Z.; Liang, Y.; Xie, Y.; Wang, C.; Wan, S.; Leng, X.; Hu, M.; Zheng, G.* High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Screening of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs) in Dust from Homes and Various Microenvironments in South China. Environmental Science & Technology 2024, 58, 3182–3193. (Supplementary Cover)
5. Zheng, G.*; Eick, S. M.; Salamova, A.* Elevated Levels of Ultrashort- and Short-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Acids in US Homes and People. Environmental Science & Technology 2023, 57 (42), 15782–15793. (Highly cited 1%)
6. Arnold, W. A.; Blum, A.; Branyan, J.; Bruton, T. A.; Carignan, C. C.; Cortopassi, G.; Datta, S.; DeWitt, J.; Doherty, A.-C.; Halden, R. U.; Harari, H.; Hartmann, E. M.; Hrubec, T. C.; Iyer, S.; Kwiatkowski, C. F.; LaPier, J.; Li, D.; Li, L.; Mu?iz Ortiz, J. G.; Salamova, A.; Schettler, T.; Seguin, R. P.; Soehl, A.; Sutton, R.; Xu, L.; Zheng, G. Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: A Chemical Class of Emerging Concern. Environmental Science & Technology 2023, 57, 7645–7665. (Hot paper) (Highly cited 1%) (Best Paper of ES&T in 2024)
7. Zheng, G.; Schreder, E.; Sathyanarayana, S.; Salamova, A.*, The first detection of quaternary ammonium compounds in breast milk Implications for early-life exposure. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. 2022. 32, 682–688. (The International Society of Exposure Science's Best Paper of the Year Award)
8. Zheng, G., Melo, L., Chakraborty, R., E.Klaunig, J., Salamova, A.*, Biotransformation of 2,4,6-tris(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TTBP-TAZ) can contribute to high levels of 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP) in humans. Environment International, 2022, 158, 106943.
9. Zheng, G., Webster, T., Salamova, A.*, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: Bioaccumulation Potentials in Humans and Levels in Blood before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Environmental Science & Technology, 2021, 55, 14689–14698.
10. Zheng, G.; Schreder, E.; Jennifer, D.; Nancy, U.; Valerie, C.; Gabe, A.; Sheela, S.; Salamova, A.*, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Breast Milk: Concerning Trends for Current-Use PFAS. Environmental Science & Technology, 2021, 55, 11, 7510–7520. Written up by more than 20 press including The Guardian, Yahoo, C&EN etc. (Highly cited 1%) (Best Paper of ES&T in 2021)
11. Zheng, G.; Schreder, E.; Jennifer, D.; Nancy, U.; Valerie, C.; Gabe, A.; Sheela, S.; Salamova, A.*, Organophosphate esters and their metabolites in breast milk from the United States: Breastfeeding is an important exposure pathway for infants. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 2021, 8, 224-230.
12. Zheng, G., Filippelli, G., Salamova, A.*,Increased Indoor Exposure to Commonly Used Disinfectants during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2020, 7, 760–765. Written up by C&EN and featured by the Most Read article by ES&T Letters.
13. Zheng, G., and Salamova, A.*, Are melamine and its derivatives the alternatives for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) fabric treatments in infant clothes? Environmental Science & Technology 2020, 54, 10207–10216.
14. Zheng, G.; Boor, B. E.; Schreder, E.; Salamova, A.*,Indoor exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the childcare environment. Environmental Pollution 2020, 258, 113714.
15. Zheng, G.; Miller, P.; von Hippel, F. A.; Buck, C. L.; Carpenter, D. O.; Salamova, A.*, Legacy and emerging semi-volatile organic compounds in sentinel fish from an arctic formerly used defense site in Alaska. Environmental Pollution 2020, 259, 113872.
16. Zheng, G.; Boor, B. E.; Schreder, E.; Salamova, A.*, Exposure to melamine and its derivatives in childcare facilities. Chemosphere 2020, 244, 125505.
17. Zheng, G.; Wan, Y.*; Shi, S. N.; Zhao, H. Q.; Gao, S. X.; Zhang, S. Y.; An, L. H.; Zhang, Z. B., Trophodynamics of emerging brominated flame retardants in the aquatic food web of Lake Taihu: Relationship with organism metabolism across trophic levels. Environmental Science & Technology 2018, 52, 4632-4640.
18. Ashrap, P.#; Zheng, G.# (contribute equally); Wan, Y.*; Li, T.; Hu, W. X.; Li, W. J.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, Z. B.; Hu, J. Y.*, Discovery of a widespread metabolic pathway within and among phenolic xenobiotics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2017, 114, 6062-6067.
19. Zheng, G.; Wan, Y.*; Hu, J. Y., Intrinsic Clearance of Xenobiotic Chemicals by Liver Microsomes: Assessment of Trophic Magnification Potentials. Environmental Science & Technology 2016, 50, 6343-6353.