Meichen Wang

Meichen Wang

May Chin Wang
Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences

Toxicology, environmental health, exposure, contaminants, food safety

Location

Goessmann Building

686 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
United States

240D Goessmann

Links

Diet is a major source of exposure to many environmental chemicals, including PFAS, micro- and nanoplastics, PCBs, heavy metals, cyanotoxins, plasticizers, and mycotoxins. This problem is exacerbated by extreme weather events, which can increase the production of toxicants and facilitate their mobilization and redistribution in the environment. How can we protect ourselves from inevitable environmental exposure? Have you considered that eating clay can be a solution?

Dr. Wang’s research focuses on developing viable mitigation strategies for environmental chemicals of concern to human health. Her most recent research, funded by NIEHS, aims to develop edible clay-based sorbent materials to mitigate dietary exposure to PFAS and their associated toxicity in reproduction and fetal development. This is a critical need, especially for vulnerable populations during critical windows of exposure, such as pregnancy and lactation. 

Active Projects:

  • Development of edible sorbent therapies to mitigate dietary exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
  • Remediation of PFAS in vegetable plants and mitigation of their impact on nutrients and phytochemicals.
  • Toxicity correlations among cell models and bioassays.
  • Development of edible sorbents for micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). 

Funding sources:

NIEHS, USDA NIFA CAFÉ, UMass

Engagement:

  • Panel Reviewer, NIEHS
  • Assistant Editor, Food Additives and Contaminants Part A
  • Lab Safety Coordinator, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, UMass Amherst

Education

  • Postdoctoral fellow, Texas A&M University
  • PhD, Texas A&M University
  • MS, Texas A&M University
  • BS, Beijing University of Chemical Technology

Personal Bio

Dr. Meichen Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Health Sciences Department. Dr. Wang is trained as a toxicologist at Texas A&M University, where she earned her graduate degrees in Toxicology and completed her postdoctoral research that was sponsored by NIEHS Superfund and K99 grants. Her research specializes in using multidisciplinary tools in materials science, analytical chemistry, and molecular biology to develop and apply edible clays that reduce human exposure to environmental pollutants in drinking water and food, as well as their associated toxicity.

Accepting PhD students for Spring/Fall 2026.

Key Publications

Phillips, T.D. and Wang, M. Edible enterosorbents used to mitigate acute exposures to ingestible environmental toxins following outbreaks, natural disasters and emergencies. Patent.

Wang, M., Lilly, K., Martin, L.M.A., Xu, W., Tamamis, P., Phillips, T.D. (2024). Adsorption and removal of polystyrene nanoplastics from water by green-engineered clays. Water Research. PMID 38070346.

Wang, M., Orr, A.A., Jakubowski, J.M., Bird, K.E., Casey, C.M., Hearon, S.E., Tamamis, T., Phillips, T.D. (2021). Enhanced adsorption of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by edible, nutrient-amended montmorillonite clays. Water Research. PMID 33125992.

Wang, M., Chen, Z., Rusyn, I., Phillips, T.D. (2021). Testing the efficacy of broad-acting sorbents for environmental mixtures using isothermal analysis, mammalian cells, and h. vulgaris. Journal of Hazardous Materials. PMID 33162237.

Orr, A.A., Wang, M., Beykal, B., Ganesh, H.S., Hearon, S.E., Pistikopoulos, E.N., Phillips, T.D., Tamamis, P. (2021). Combining experimental isotherms, minimalistic simulations, and a model to understand and predict chemical adsorption onto montmorillonite clays. ACS Omega. PMID 34124432.