Dr. Trevor C. VandenBoer

Michael joined the group in September 2025 as a postdoctoral research fellow, working to understand the fate of fluorinated compounds in the atmosphere. Michael began his chemistry career at Wake Forest University, where he received his B.S. in Chemistry and Spanish, with research projects in organic synthesis and computational chemistry. (2021) He completed his PhD in Analytical Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2025, advised by Dr. Jason Surratt. His dissertation research focused on measurements of gas-phase fluorinated compounds, culminating in a month-long mobile field deployment. In his free time, Michael enjoys cooking and loves traveling to new places.

Kifle Z. Aregahegn earned a B.S. in Chemistry (with a minor in Mathematics) and a M.S. in Molecular nano-photonics. He received his Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in France in 2014. He has been working on many projects with different research groups, including postdoctoral researcher with Barbara Finlayson-Pitts at UCI, USA; Hartmut Herrmann at TROPOS, Germany; and Barbara Ervens at UCA, France. He loves solving challenging analytical problems in the lab and to learn new concepts and ideas.

Leyla is a PhD student investigating the indoor chemistry and passive sampling of reactive nitrogen. She completed her BSc(Hons) in Chemistry at York University and joined the VandenBoer Group in the summer of 2018. Her honour’s thesis project focused on the passive sampling and analytical method development for the detection of ultra-trace quantities of atmospheric nitric acid (HNO3).

Danial joined the VandenBoer group in the fall of 2019 as an M.Sc. student in atmospheric chemistry and transferred to PhD studies in 2021. He obtained his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Sharif University of Technology. He then pursued an M.Sc. degree in business management at the University of Tehran and started working for investment companies as a consultant to provide them with greener solutions. Danial is currently developing new methods to measure HONO in indoor environments.

Alessia completed her BSc(Hons) in Chemistry at York University and joined the CJY and VDB Groups in the fall of 2019. She is currently a MSc student with intentions of pursuing a doctorate degree. She will be examining the sources and fate of ultra-trace persistent organic chemicals in the environment using advanced analytical techniques.

Stephen has completed his BSc(Hons) in environmental chemistry at University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) and written his honours thesis with Prof. Myrna Simpson on the effects of different litter inputs on soil organic matter composition in a temperate forest. With plans to diversify his insight into environmental chemistry research, Stephen has joined the VandenBoer group in fall 2020 as an MSc student. He is currently developing new analytical methods for quantifying trace perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in environmental samples.

Emma graduated with her HBSc in chemistry from the University of Toronto in the spring of 2023. Her previous research spanned several topics related to interfacial reactions in the environment including heterogeneous chemistry on particulate matter and the partitioning of PAHs to air-water interfaces. Emma joined the VandenBoer group in the fall of 2023 to study halogen activation chemistry in the atmosphere. Outside of her studies, Emma enjoys crocheting and reading historical fiction books.

Stephanie joined the VandenBoer group in the fall of 2025 as a MSc student. She completed her B.S. in computer science at Harvey Mudd College, where she did previous research developing software to calculate greenhouse gas fluxes. Stephanie will be part of the group’s work to develop new methods to measure HONO.

Moxy joined the VandenBoer group in the Fall of 2021 as an undergraduate Honour’s thesis student with the intention to pursue Masters before entering into professional schools. She chose to continue her work for an MSc degree starting in September 2022 under the supervisor of Dr. VandenBoer. She is continuing her work with agricultural soil samples to study reactive nitrogen cycling, focusing on how biology (soil microorganisms) would lead to changes in soil emissions. Outside her studies, Moxy loves to hike and has been a trained Bharatnatyam dancer for 5 years.

Irina first joined Dr. VandenBoer’s group in the fall of 2021 as an undergraduate for an Honour’s thesis project focusing on the measurement of trace perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in aqueous samples. She completed her HBSc in Chemistry at York University and after some time off from school, Irina decided to pursue a Master’s degree and re-joined the VandenBoer Group in fall 2023 as an MSc student. She will be continuing her research on PFCAs in the environment, using advanced analytical techniques. Outside her studies, Irina enjoys hiking, camping and kayaking.

Connor is an M.Sc. student who joined the group in January of 2025 after completing his BSc(Hons) in Chemistry at the University of Ottawa. His honours thesis focused on tuning the band gap of quantum-dot LEDs using halide exchange. He is now working to quantify alkylamines and major atmospheric ions in aerosols.