Dr. Royer specializes in the biodegradation and fate of perfluorinated alkyl chemicals (PFCs), hormones, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and abiotic and biotic transformation of PCBs in contaminated soil. She has expertise in the area of organic chemistry, primarily in analyzing environmental fate and behavior, with additional background in environmental chemistry, analytical chemistry, and soil microbiology. During her doctoral work, she designed and implemented experimental procedures to test the amenability of fluorotelomer-based monomers to biodegradation in aerobic soils. Her analytical expertise includes fungal culturing techniques, gas chromatography with detection by electron capture, flame ionization, and mass spectroscopy (GC-ECD/FID/MS), liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC/MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses.
Before joining Exponent, Dr. Royer attended Purdue University, serving as a research assistant in the Department of Agronomy—Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. In addition to her graduate work, she taught courses in soil physics for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a soil fertility course. Dr. Royer also has expertise in communicating complex scientific concepts to non-scientific audiences in remote, rural, and urban communities.
Dasu K, Royer LA, Liu J, Lee LS. Hydrolysis of fluorotelomer compounds leading to fluorotelomer alcohol production during solvent extraction of soils. Chemosphere 2010; 81(7):911–917.
Royer LA, Nyberg L. Scientific salmon monitoring project. Purdue University, 2010 and 2011.
Presentations
Royer LA, Lee LS. Biodegradation potential of fluorotelomer acrylate and methacrylate in aerobic soil. Platform presentation at SETAC North America 31st Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, November 7–11, 2010.
Royer LA, Dasu K, Liu J, Lee LS. Ester hydrolysis of fluorotelomer stearate and acrylate in soil. Presentation at the EmCon Meeting, Fort Collins, CO, August 4–7, 2009.
In support of a project to determine applicability of CERCLA Petroleum Exclusion at the site, compiled and reviewed data for samples taken from a closed oil refinery.
Compiled and reviewed data relevant to understanding the distribution of dispersants used during a major oil spill.
Assisted with a study design focused on the determination of dispersant markers in water, based on the application of oil spill dispersants.
Reviewed relevant literature on photodegradation of PAHs in water to support sample analysis results from data related to an oil spill.
Reviewed literature related to sedimentation rates to support Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) in the Gulf of Mexico.
Evaluated the biodegradation of fluorotelomer-based monomers in soil to determine transformation to fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other fluorotelomer and perfluorinated carboxylic acid (FTCA and PFCA) metabolites using GC/MS and LC/MS analysis.
Assessed the dechlorination potential of zero-valent iron complexes in PCB-contaminated soil.
Designed and performed the synthesis of peptides and other organic products for application as peptidomimetic compounds.
Performed NMR and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) confirmation of synthesis products.
Served as co-education and outreach coordinator for collaborative environmental monitoring program with Native Alaskan Villages.