Diane Orihel

Dr. Orihel has spent 20 years conducting large-scale manipulation experiments to understand the fate and effects of contaminants in freshwater ecosystems - science that has informed policy decisions to regulate environmental chemicals in North America and globally. Her research has advanced our understanding of mercury contamination of food webs, environmental legacy of flame retardants, as well as nutrient cycling and harmful algal blooms. Most recently, her work has addressed the impacts of oil sands mining, oil spills, and plastic pollution on aquatic organisms. Dr. Orihel has a strong track record as a science communicator and freshwater advocate, for which she was featured in Nature and received the national Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Recently, her career achievements were recognized with a Yentsch-Schindler Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology & Oceanography. Dr. Orihel currently holds the position of National Scholar in Aquatic Ecotoxicology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.