Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Municipal landfills are hot-spots for anthropogenic contamination, emitting 20% of Canada's annual methane and housing large amounts of recalcitrant waste. Microorganisms within municipal landfills transform wastes and represent untapped resources for discovering new bioremediation tools. As a renewed Tier II Canada Research Chair, Dr. Laura Hug will lead a research program examining microbial impacts on (i) emerging contaminants of concern, including 1,4-dioxane and bioplastics and (ii) methane emission mitigation from landfills. Her work will examine microbial communities at landfills across Ontario, clarifying the capacity for contaminant degradation, identifying novel lineages and enzymes involved in degradation, and developing tools to improve contaminant and emission management at landfill sites across North America. Dr. Hug's approach examines environmental microbes using culture-independent (e.g., total DNA, total proteins, multi-omics) and enrichment cultivation approaches. This approach creates a multi-faceted understanding of microbial community dynamics, metabolic capacity, and identifies critical players for addressing contaminants of interest. In addition, Dr. Hug's work generates insights into microbial evolution under anthropogenic conditions, clarifying the impact pollution is having on key microbial functions in our terrestrial environments. Dr. Hug's work has the potential to develop new biomarkers for contaminant degradation assessments and new tools for augmenting biodegradation of contaminants of concern at a site. Her work on biogas capture system biofouling will help reduce interruptions for biogas generation at locations across Canada and the U.S, lowering methane emissions and improving bioenergy yields - a doubled climate benefit. Research on landfill cover soil microbial communities will identify highly active methanotrophic lineages well adapted to diverse soil conditions. These will be cultivated and characterized as "seed" cultures to improve methane oxidation at new or poorly performing cover soils. Dr. Hug works closely with industry partners, municipalities, and landfill engineers to ensure research results are translated into implemented solutions at Canadian landfills.