When he was young, Vaughn Mangal’s parents would often take him fishing along the Otonabee River. “I would always tell them I wanted to go to that university so I could go fishing whenever I wanted.”

Turn the clock forward a few years and not only is Mr. Mangal a student at Trent University, his research is helping to improve the river and other bodies of water for a future generation of anglers. In June, his paper made the cover of the prestigious Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry journal.

For his Ph.D. at Trent, Mr. Mangal is studying the effects of specific molecules produced by algae and the role these molecules have on binding to heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium. These unique molecules that contain sulfur, known as thiols, make very strong bonds to metals reducing their availability to organisms.

“My research paper focuses specifically on using a new separation technique to separate, quantify and identify these thiol molecules,” he explains.

He says metals such as mercury have a tendency to be accumulated in a variety of organisms, especially fish. “The presence of these thiol molecules in water have the ability to bind to mercury, allowing the metals to be less available. The findings of my paper will shed light into what thiols are naturally being produced by algae and how we can separate them. This research can hopefully be applied to reduce the amount of heavy metals being uptaken by our fish, meaning less heavy metals in our diets. “

Mr. Mangal was born in Guyana, South America and came to Canada with his parents when he was four years old. He was raised in Oshawa, before moving to Ajax for his high school career.

“When I got older and the choice of universities became more serious, Trent’s welcoming atmosphere, coupled with its quiet setting, were obvious advantages when compared to other universities,” he recalls. “The ability to read your textbook along the river while only being five minutes away from your classes is a quality that can only be found at Trent.”

He began his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Trent in September of 2009. After completing his degree, he was given the opportunity to pursue an Environmental and Life Sciences Master’s degree, which he did for one year before going through the conversion process to the Ph.D. program.

Some of his current projects aim to expand on his previous findings. Through Trent University’s state-of-the-art Water Quality Center, he has been using a technique called high resolution mass spectrometry in attempts to obtain specific chemical structures of thiol molecules produced by algae.

Having his paper published, and appearing on the cover of the journal, helps validate his efforts.

“I never thought I would be in a position where my work could make the front cover of a peer review journal. I am mostly happy to have the opportunity to contribute to the scientific community, and I hope that others can learn from my work as much as I have learned from theirs.”

He added: “Trent has provided me with all of the opportunities to find my academic interests and its unique learning environment has allowed me to excel at my studies. The small setting of Trent allowed me to make many connections with professors during both my undergraduate and graduate degrees that have provided me many unique opportunities to better my academic career.”