Basic Introduction:

Guomao Zheng is an Associate Professor (Principal Investigator) at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). He is a recipient of the National High-Level Overseas Talent Program and a member of the Shenzhen “Peacock” Young Talent Team.

His research focuses on environmental analytical chemistry, with long-term efforts devoted to developing mass-spectrometry-based targeted and non-targeted analytical methods for emerging contaminants. His work systematically investigates the environmental fate and transport of these contaminants, human exposure levels, and the identification of key metabolic intermediates responsible for toxicity in humans.

Dr. Zheng has published nearly 50 SCI-indexed papers, including 23 as first or corresponding author, in leading journals such as PNAS and Environmental Science & Technology. His publications include three highly cited papers and one hot paper. His research has received extensive international media coverage by outlets including CNN, The Guardian, Yahoo, and Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). A bioaccumulation prediction model developed by his group has been adopted by the Department of Pollution Prevention and Control of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment for chemical management. His research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in human breast milk provided direct scientific evidence that contributed to Washington State becoming the first U.S. state to enact comprehensive PFAS bans through executive legislation.

He has received several prestigious awards, including the International Society of Exposure Science Best Paper Award (2022), the Environmental Science & Technology Best Paper Award (2023 and 2021), the Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award of Peking University (2018), and the First Prize of the Tang Xiaoyan Environmental Science Innovation Award (2018). He has served as Principal Investigator for projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General and Young Investigator Programs) and the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation.

Dr. Zheng serves on the Early Career Editorial Boards of Journal of Hazardous Materials and Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances, and is a committee member of the Emerging Contaminants Governance Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, as well as the Standardization Committee of the Guangdong Society for Environmental Sciences.

Website: https://faculty.sustech.edu.cn/zhenggm/en/

Professional Experience:

2022-present, Associate Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology, China

2021-2022, Assistant Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology, China

2018-2021, Postdoctoral Associate, Indiana University, USA

Education:

2012-2018, Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, Peking University, China

2008-2012, B.S. in Environmental Science, Sun-Yet-Sen University, China

Honors and Awards:

1. the Best Paper Award from the International Society of Exposure Science (2022)

2. the Best Paper Award from Environmental Science & Technology (2023 and 2021)

3. the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award from Peking University (2018)

4. the First Prize of the Tang Xiaoyan Environmental Science Innovation Award (2018)

Research Interests:

1. Nontarget screening of emerging contaminants

2. Environmental fate of emerging contaminants

3. Human exposure

4. Metabolic toxicity

5. High-resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolomics

Selected funded projects:

1. Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Overseas) (Principal Investigator, 2023-2025)

2. National Natural Science Foundation of China General Project (Principal Investigator, 2025-2028, 22476080)

3. Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation General Project (Principal Investigator, 2025-2027, 22476080)

4. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund (Principal Investigator, 2023-2025, Project Number: 22206071)

Teaching (Courses and outstanding students)：

1. Environmental Mass Spectrometry

2. Environment and Health

Published Works:

1. Guo, X.; Liu, C.; Zhang, X.; Xia, H.; Luo, S.; Liao, H.; Qiu, W.; Tang, Y.; Zhang, K.; Zhang, B.; Shen, H.; Zheng, G.* Linking Polycarbonate Plastics to Perfluorobutanesulfonate Emissions in Landfill Leachates via Suspect and Nontarget Screening of Diverse Plastic Products. Environmental Science & Technology 2026, 60, 1115-1128.

2. Zhang, Z.; Zhang, B.; Ma, J.; Li, X.; Zhou, Y.; He, X.; Chen, X.; Liu, C.; Szczuka, A.; Wang, L.*; Zheng, G.*; Yang, Z. Characteristic fragment-based nontarget identification of thiol-reactive compounds in disinfected wastewater using high-resolution mass spectrometry: Focus on α,β-unsaturated carbonyls. Environmental Science & Technology 2025, 59, 27, 14041–14052.

3. Xie, Y.; Li, J.; Salamova, A.*; Zheng, G.* Occurrence of current-use pesticides in paired indoor dust, drinking water, and urine samples from the United States: Risk prioritization and health implications. Environmental Science & Technology 2025, 59, 12507–12519.

4. Wang, Z.#; Yuan, G.#; Sun, M.; Fan, W.; Fan, X.; Lai, B.; Leng, X.; Zheng, G.*; Dong, Z.* Decorative cosmetics and skin care products contribute significantly to short-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates exposure. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2025, 495, 138846.

5. Cheng, Y.; Lv, Z.; Schreder, E.; Hu, M.; Mutic, A.; Zheng, G.*; Salamova, A.* Elevated Concentrations of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Childcare Centers: A Pilot Study. Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters 2025, 100138.  

6. Hu, M.; Li, L.; Lv, Z.; Sangion, A.; Zheng, G.*; Cai, Z.; Salamova, A.* Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Paired Samples of Blood and Indoor Dust from the United States. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2024, 11, 1308–1313. 

7. Liu, C.; Wan, S.; Cheng, Y.; Lv, Z.; Luo, S.; Liang, Y.; Xie, Y.; Leng, X.; Hu, M.; Zhang, B.; Yang, X.; Zheng, G.* Occurrence, Sources, and Human Exposure Assessment of Amine-Based Rubber Additives in Dust from Various Micro-Environments in South China. Science of The Total Environment 2024, 955, 177023–177023. 

8. Cheng, Y.; Liu, C.; Lv, Z.; Liang, Y.; Xie, Y.; Wang, C.; Wan, S.; Leng, X.; Hu, M.; Zheng, G.* High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Screening of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs) in Dust from Homes and Various Microenvironments in South China. Environmental Science & Technology 2024,  58,  3182–3193. (Supplementary Cover) 

9. Zheng, G.*; Eick, S. M.; Salamova, A.* Elevated Levels of Ultrashort- and Short-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Acids in US Homes and People. Environmental Science & Technology 2023, 57 (42), 15782–15793. (Highly cited 1%) 

10. Arnold, W. A.; Blum, A.; Branyan, J.; Bruton, T. A.; Carignan, C. C.; Cortopassi, G.; Datta, S.; DeWitt, J.; Doherty, A.-C.; Halden, R. U.; Harari, H.; Hartmann, E. M.; Hrubec, T. C.; Iyer, S.; Kwiatkowski, C. F.; LaPier, J.; Li, D.; Li, L.; Muñiz Ortiz, J. G.; Salamova, A.; Schettler, T.; Seguin, R. P.; Soehl, A.; Sutton, R.; Xu, L.; Zheng, G. Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: A Chemical Class of Emerging Concern. Environmental Science & Technology 2023, 57, 7645–7665.  (Hot paper) (Highly cited 1%) (Best Paper of ES&T in 2024)

11. Zheng, G.; Schreder, E.; Sathyanarayana, S.; Salamova, A.*, The first detection of quaternary ammonium compounds in breast milk Implications for early-life exposure. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. 2022. 32, 682–688. (The International Society of Exposure Science's Best Paper of the Year Award) 

12. Zheng, G., Melo, L., Chakraborty, R., E.Klaunig, J., Salamova, A.*, Biotransformation of 2,4,6-tris(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TTBP-TAZ) can contribute to high levels of 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP) in humans. Environment International, 2022, 158, 106943.

13. Zheng, G., Webster, T., Salamova, A.*, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: Bioaccumulation Potentials in Humans and Levels in Blood before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Environmental Science & Technology, 2021, 55, 14689–14698.

14. Zheng, G.; Schreder, E.; Jennifer, D.; Nancy, U.; Valerie, C.; Gabe, A.; Sheela, S.; Salamova, A.*, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Breast Milk: Concerning Trends for Current-Use PFAS. Environmental Science & Technology, 2021, 55, 11, 7510–7520. Written up by more than 20 press including The Guardian, Yahoo, C&EN etc. (Highly cited 1%) (Best Paper of ES&T in 2021)

15. Zheng, G.; Schreder, E.; Jennifer, D.; Nancy, U.; Valerie, C.; Gabe, A.; Sheela, S.; Salamova, A.*, Organophosphate esters and their metabolites in breast milk from the United States: Breastfeeding is an important exposure pathway for infants. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 2021, 8, 224-230.

16. Zheng, G., Filippelli, G., Salamova, A.*,Increased Indoor Exposure to Commonly Used Disinfectants during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2020, 7, 760–765. Written up by C&EN and featured by the Most Read article by ES&T Letters.

17. Zheng, G., and Salamova, A.*, Are melamine and its derivatives the alternatives for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) fabric treatments in infant clothes? Environmental Science & Technology 2020, 54, 10207–10216.

18. Zheng, G.; Boor, B. E.; Schreder, E.; Salamova, A.*,Indoor exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the childcare environment. Environmental Pollution 2020, 258, 113714.

19. Zheng, G.; Miller, P.; von Hippel, F. A.; Buck, C. L.; Carpenter, D. O.; Salamova, A.*, Legacy and emerging semi-volatile organic compounds in sentinel fish from an arctic formerly used defense site in Alaska. Environmental Pollution 2020, 259, 113872.

20. Zheng, G.; Boor, B. E.; Schreder, E.; Salamova, A.*, Exposure to melamine and its derivatives in childcare facilities. Chemosphere 2020, 244, 125505.

21. Zheng, G.; Wan, Y.*; Shi, S. N.; Zhao, H. Q.; Gao, S. X.; Zhang, S. Y.; An, L. H.; Zhang, Z. B., Trophodynamics of emerging brominated flame retardants in the aquatic food web of Lake Taihu: Relationship with organism metabolism across trophic levels. Environmental Science & Technology 2018, 52, 4632-4640.

22. Ashrap, P.#; Zheng, G.# (contribute equally); Wan, Y.*; Li, T.; Hu, W. X.; Li, W. J.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, Z. B.; Hu, J. Y.*, Discovery of a widespread metabolic pathway within and among phenolic xenobiotics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2017, 114, 6062-6067.

23. Zheng, G.; Wan, Y.*; Hu, J. Y., Intrinsic Clearance of Xenobiotic Chemicals by Liver Microsomes: Assessment of Trophic Magnification Potentials. Environmental Science & Technology 2016, 50, 6343-6353.