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Assistant professor honored for excellence in research

Dr. John Bowden, an assistant professor in the UF College of Veterinary Medicine’s department of physiological sciences, with additional appointments in Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, has received a 2021 Excellence Award for Assistant Professors from the University Provost’s Office.

Bowden’s research focuses on endocrine disruption and environmental chemistry, specifically on the use of mass spectrometric methods at the chemical/biological interface. A recent drive in the Bowden laboratory involves research into the interplay between external measures of exposure, such as anthropogenic contaminants, and internal measures of exposure, such as lipids and hormones, in the context of health and disease.

Over the past year, Bowden has been running a Florida water quality project across the state of Florida to monitor for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a major contaminant class of emerging concern. He hopes to develop baseline values to allow for comparison in order to measure what is changing chemically over time. Dr. Bowden also has two PFAS-focused EPA Science to Achieve Results, or STAR, grants to monitor the fate and transport of PFAS in (1) landfills and (2) in vulnerable coastal communities during large episodic weather events (e.g., hurricanes, floods).

Bowden holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. degree in analytical chemistry, both from the University of Florida. He joined the college’s faculty in 2018.

The Provost’s Office offers the Excellence Awards for Assistant Professors to recognize junior faculty for excellence in research. Awards consist of a one-time allocation of $5,000 in support of research that can be used to fund travel, equipment, books, graduate students and other research-related expenses.

Dr. Paul Cooke, physiological sciences department chair, noted that Bowden was the third faculty member from his department to receive the prestigious award. Dr. Jose Ignatio Aguirre and Dr. Leah Reznikov were honored in 2016 and 2020, respectively.