Bio
Dr. Peijia Ku is an Environmental Health Scientist in the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health group at the Environmental Sciences Division at ORNL, focusing on ecotoxicology and biogeochemistry. She earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2020, following an M.S. in Environmental Science from Jinan University (Guangzhou, China) in 2015 and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Dalian University of Technology (Dalian, China) in 2012. She has obtained training and experience in environmental engineering and sciences, especially in ecotoxicology and biogeochemistry, from molecular to ecosystem scale. She joined ORNL in 2020 and her research interests include but are not limited to, biogeochemical, hydrological, and microbiological processes mediating environmental contaminants under perturbations, mechanisms governing contaminant transformations, bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial food webs, and risk assessments, including ecotoxicity and degradation, of both traditional and emerging compounds.
Peijia is currently leading the task of development and evaluation of mercury remediation technologies to reduce mercury bioaccumulation in the aquatic environment, working on projects to understand biogeochemical transformations and bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants, and conduct risk assessment of novel materials in aquatic environments. She is also the lead of multiple labs including mercury/methylmercury analytical lab, biodegradation lab, and nutrient analysis lab.
Awards
Science Serving Society Award, ORNL Environmental Sciences Division, 2025. Award given to Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) team for its innovation, excellence and societal impact in environmental monitoring, remediation, and community engagement.
Science Serving Society Award, ORNL Environmental Sciences Division, 2022. Award given to Mercury Technology Development Project (Mercury TD) team for innovative technologies development and mercury remediation efforts on the Oak Ridge Reservation and around the world.