Confronting persistent chemicals in our ecosystem: Vaia Lida Chatzi and Max Aung

USC Trojan Family Magazine highlights Trojans who have made substantial contributions to sustainability at the University of Southern California.

USC researcher Vaia Lida Chatzi, originally from Greece, had a lifelong aspiration to become a physician — but once she achieved that goal, she realized that she couldn’t enact change merely by treating individual patients. Her vision was to prevent illnesses entirely. Thus, she pursued a PhD in occupational health, concentrating on asthma in farming workers.

“That’s where it all began,” states Chatzi, a professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “I recognized the significant exposure these workers faced to pesticides, often without any safety gear. And indeed, we discovered their exposure was causing their asthma.”

Nowadays, Chatzi, along with fellow USC researcher Max Aung, is researching the health repercussions of PFAS, a class of synthetic chemicals linked to fatty liver disease, fertility complications, developmental delays, hypertension, cancer, and various other health issues.

This is a pressing issue: PFAS are ubiquitous, found in everything from fast-food wrappers to waterproof apparel and nonstick cookware. Dubbed “forever chemicals,” they resist quick degradation and tend to accumulate in drinking water, soil, and within human bodies. Almost all Americans have PFAS in their bloodstream.

Identifying forever chemicals in water

In 2023, Chatzi and Aung received the President’s Sustainability Initiative Award from USC Research and Innovation to investigate PFAS in drinking water throughout Southern California. That same year, Aung participated in a press conference alongside California Attorney General Rob Bonta, declaring the enforcement of new California legislation mandating manufacturers to limit PFAS in food packaging and implement labeling standards for cookware.

They recently published findings connecting PFAS to sleep disruptions. Another investigation revealed that PFAS in drinking water are…
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pertaining to the occurrence of specific gastrointestinal, hormonal, respiratory, and oral cancers.

Currently, with an $8 million, five-year funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences — part of the National Institutes of Health — Chatzi will spearhead a new USC Superfund center aimed at investigating and addressing PFAS pollution. Researchers from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering will examine methods to eliminate PFAS from contaminated water, utilizing specialized microbes, chemicals, or thermal techniques to decompose the substances.

“Lida and Max are revolutionizing our understanding of and response to environmental health hazards,” remarks Ishwar Puri, senior vice president of research and innovation at USC. “Their work on PFAS — ranging from identifying health effects to promoting policy and cleanup efforts — illustrates science dedicated to disease prevention and meaningful societal impact.”

A personal journey to public health research

Similar to Chatzi, Aung — who became part of USC in 2022 — began contemplating human health early in life. Although he wasn’t acquainted with environmental health as a field of study, he was aware that his hometown of Bakersfield had the most contaminated air in the country.

“Everybody knows it’s one of the most contaminated regions nationwide, but relocating isn’t a simple option, so people just acclimate to these circumstances,” states Aung, an assistant professor of environmental health at the Keck School of Medicine.

While pursuing a degree in molecular biology during college, Aung also conducted research in a paleoceanography laboratory, gathering sediment samples from the ocean bottom. He contributed to the analysis of these samples to reconstruct historical climate conditions. He mentions that his two fields of study — molecular biology and environmental science — seemed unrelated.

“Then I stumbled upon the domain of environmental health, and that’s when everything fell into place,” Aung explains. “It was the ideal way to integrate my scientific background with my personal background.”

Chatzi, who has researched PFAS for 15 years, felt a connection when Aung interviewed at USC.

“I was part of the selection committee,” Chatzi shares. “Max delivered an excellent seminar — very insightful, demonstrating a strong dedication to environmental health. We hit it off immediately.” Their collaboration commenced with PFAS and omics biomarker investigations. (Omics refers to the comprehensive study of all molecular components of a biological system, including genes, proteins, RNA, and metabolites, like genomes and microbiomes).

“His expertise in data science and community involvement complements my background in environmental epidemiology and public health,” she continues. “It has evolved into a natural and invigorating partnership.”

For his part, Aung notes that while evaluating his next step, he meticulously considered potential colleagues like Chatzi at each institution. He ultimately decided that USC seemed like a place where he could excel.

Chatzi agrees: “One reason I’ve remained at USC is its dynamic research community and dedication to public health. It’s a setting where translational research is more than a catchphrase — we are conducting science with tangible effects.”