Biodesign Directory Profile

Bio

Professor
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering

Rolf Halden, Ph.D., P.E., is associate director of the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology at the Biodesign Institute, professor in the Ira A. Fulton School for Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, interim co-director of the Center for Health Information & Research, and senior sustainability scientist for the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

Halden is a noted expert in determining where in the environment mass-produced chemicals wind up, their impact on health, and how to remove them from contaminated water resources, aquifers and agricultural soils. Toxins of interest include dioxins, anti-bacterial products, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), organohalides, problematic plastics and their additives, as well as pesticides – all having potential health impacts, including adverse birth outcomes, inflammation and increased risk of cancer.

In his research, Halden detected antimicrobial additives of personal care products, used as far back as the 1960s, to persist to this day in estuarine sediments along the East Coast. In 2004, his team first discovered triclocarban as a pollutant of the U.S. environment nationwide. Halden’s research on antimicrobials and his briefings to the Environmental Protection Agency helped to prompt a review of the antimicrobial triclosan by the agency 10 years earlier than planned.

An inventor, Halden has developed several patented and patent-pending technologies to monitor toxins in groundwater and to determine the best way of removing them from precious drinking water resources by using naturally occurring microorganisms. One invention, the In Situ Microcosm Array (ISMA) device, is a self-contained, field deployable lab-to-go, suitable for conducting multiple sediment column experiments simultaneously in the subsurface.

In addition to toxins in wastewater, Halden’s team is researching the emission of toxic dioxin into U.S. air from incineration of triclosan-laden municipal sludge, or biosolids, and, in a related study, completed the first whole-genome sequencing of a naturally occurring bacterium uniquely capable of using toxic dioxins as a food source.

While investigating the burden of toxic chemicals in the human body, Halden and collaborators completed a global assessment of contaminants and proteins detectable in umbilical cord blood to better understand the fetal health risks from in utero exposures to tobacco constituents from maternal smoking and to other environmental toxins. This work yielded the first map of hundreds of proteins detectable in human cord blood and singled out more than a dozen interesting biomarker candidates of toxic exposures and effect.

Halden’s research found common pesticides in cord blood, suggesting that pregnant women receive regular, chronic exposures, which may perturb fetal development. He is part of an ASU team studying the potential health risks of engineered nanomaterials in water, food, commercial products and biological samples.

Prior to his work at ASU, Halden was at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD, where he served as a co-founding member of the Center for Water and Health. He maintains an adjunct faculty appointment at Hopkins in the Department of Environment Health Sciences. Prior to joining academia, Halden was a project engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he directed the construction and operation of physical and biological groundwater treatment systems. 

In 2010, Halden edited a book for the American Chemical Society (ACS) entitled “Contaminants of Emerging Concern: Ecotoxicological and Human Health Considerations,” published by Oxford University Press. He has authored 80 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, 15 patent applications, 130 conference papers, and presented over 100 invited lectures and keynote addresses at national and international scientific symposia. Halden is a special government employee who provides expert advice to several governmental agencies, the National Research Council and the FDA’s Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee. 

Halden received master’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering (with a concentration in environmental engineering) from the University of Minnesota and a master’s in biology from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. He is registered as a professional environmental engineer (PE) in Minnesota and Arizona.

Expertise

Public Health, Water Quality, Environmental Proteomics, Bioremediation, Biological Treatment Processes, Environmental Chemistry, Exposure Assessment, Sustainability, Pollution Prevention, Green Chemistry, Green Engineering

Education

1998, Postdoctoral Training in Environmental Science, University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA
1997, Ph.D. in Civil (Environmental) Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
1994, M.S. in Civil (Environmental) Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
1992, M.S. (Diploma) in Biology, Technical University of Braunschweig

Awards

2011            Leroy E. Burney Lecturer, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

2010 -          Senior Sustainability Scientist, Global Institute of Sustainability, ASU

2010            Nominee and Finalist, ‘Award for Research Excellence,’ Arizona BioIndustry Association’s BIOFEST 2010

2010            Biodesign Impact Accelerator Program, Selected Startup Company, ASU

2007            Faculty Research Initiative Award, Johns Hopkins University

2005            Faculty Research Initiative Award, Johns Hopkins University

2002            Faculty Innovation Award, Johns Hopkins University

2000            Two Recognition Awards, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

1998            American Permanent Residency National Interest Waiver, LLNL

1997            American Society for Microbiology, Travel Grant

1996            Dissertation Fellowship, Outstanding Ph.D. Student, University of Minnesota

 

[VISIT THE HALDEN LAB]

 

Dr. Halden's research explores the connection between anthropogenic activities, environmental quality and human health. His research relies heavily on the use of mass spectrometric tools (e.g., LC-MS/MS, MALDI-TOF) for applications in environmental proteomics, bioremediation and public health engineering. Ongoing projects focus on:

Bioremediation of Environmental Contaminants
We are conducting research and also are supporting full-scale field deployments of bioremediation strategies for the removal of toxic pollutants from impacted soil and groundwater environments. This work includes the development of novel diagnostic devices for groundwater monitoring and remedial design.

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in the Environment
We are determining the fate of PPCPs in the environment, beginning with a characterization of sources such as wastewater treatment plants and ending with the characterization of the human body burden and biomarkers of exposure.

Environmental Proteomics
We are developing and applying proteomics techniques for the detection and characterization of microorganisms providing ecological services or posing public health threats. Instrumentation utilized includes liquid chromatography coupled to robotic spotters for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (LC-MALDI) analysis, and electro spray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Our laboratory features triple quadrupole and time-of-flight (TOF/TOF) mass analyzers.

Health Effects of Human Exposure to Toxic Pollutants
We are studying the extent of human exposure to toxic pollutants and their associated health effects by examining biological specimens from adults and children.

Renewable Energy from Biological Systems
We are developing diagnostic assays for monitoring photosynthetic biomass production and biomass conversion to hydrocarbons and electricity.

[VISIT THE HALDEN LAB]

2011 Publications

Wells, E. M.,* B. J. Apelberg, J. Herbstman, J. M. Jarrett, K. L. Caldwell, R. U. Halden, F. R. Witter and L. R. Goldman. The relationship of selenium and maternal blood pressure during childbirth (In Press at Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology).

Ziv-El, M., A. G. Delgado, Y. Yao, K. Muto, D.-W. Kang, R. U. Halden, R. Krajmalnik-Brown.* Development and Characterization of DehaloR^2, a Novel Anaerobic Microbial Consortium Performing Rapid Dechlorination of TCE to Ethene. (In Press at Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology). 

Novak, P. J., Arnold, W. A., Blazer, V.S., Halden, R. U., Klaper, R. D., Kolpin, D. W., Kriebel, D., Love, N. G., Martinovic-Weigelt, D., Patisaul, H. B., Snyder, S. A., vom Saal, F. S., Weisbrod, A. V., and D. L. Swackhamer. 2011. On the Need for a National (US) Research Program to Elucidate the Potential Risks to Human Health and the Environment Posed by Contaminants of Emerging Concern. Environmental Science & Technology 45(9):3829-3830. DOI: 10.1021/es200744f. Published: May 1, 2011.

Chao, T.-C., G. Song, N. Hansmeier, P. Westerhoff, P. Herckes, R. U. Halden.* 2011. Characterization and LC-MS/MS based quantification of hydroxylated fullerenes. Analytical Chemistry 83(5):1777-1783.

Wells, E. M.,* B. J. J. M. Jarrett, Y. H. Li, K. L. Caldwell, J. R. Hibbeln, B. J. Apelberg, J. Herbstman, R. U. Halden, F. R. Witter and L. R. Goldman. 2011. Body burdens and Descriptors of Mercury, Lead, Selenium and Copper Among Newborns at an Urban Hospital. Environ. Res. (In Press). doi:10.1016/j.envres.2010.12.009

Wells, E. M.,* Navas-Acien, A., Herbstman, J. B., Apelberg, B. J., Silbergeld, E.K., Caldwell, K. L., Jones, R. L., Halden, R. U., Witter, F. R., and L. R. Goldman. 2011. Low level lead exposure and elevated blood pressure during pregnancy. Environ. Health Perspect. (In Press) doi:10.1289/ehp.1002666.

Neta, G.,* L. R. Goldman, D. Barr, A. Sjödin, N. Fedarko, B. J. Apelberg, F. R. Witter, R. U. Halden. 2011. Fetal exposure to chlordane and permethrin mixtures in relation to inflammatory cytokines and birth outcomes. Environmental Science & Technology 45(4):1680-1687.

Benn, T. M.*, B. F. Pycke, P. Herckes, P. Westerhoff, and R. U. Halden. 2011. Evaluation of Extraction Methods for the Quantification of Aqueous Fullerenes in Urine. Anal. Bioanalyt. Chem. 399(4):1631-1639.

W. P. Ela,* D. L. Sedlak, M. A. Barlaz, H. F. Henry, D. D. G. Muir, D. L. Swackhamer, E. J. Weber, R. G. Arnold, L. Ferguson, J. A. Field, E. T. Furlong, J. P. Giesy, R. U. Halden, T. Henry, R. A. Hites, K. C. Hornbuckle, P.  H. Howard, R. G. Luthy, A. K. Meyer, A. E. Sáez, F. S. vom Saal, C. D. Vulpe, and M. R. Wiesner. 2011. Towards Identifying the Next Generation of Superfund and Hazardous Waste Site Contaminants. Environ. Health Perspect. 119(1):6-10.

Higgins, C. P.,* Z. J. Paesani, T.  E. A. Chalew, R. U. Halden, L. Hundal. 2011. Persistence of Triclocarban and Triclosan in Soils after Land Application of Biosolids and Bioaccumulation in Eisenia foetida. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 30(3):556-563.

2010 Publications

Miller, T. R., A. L. Delcher, S. L. Salzberg, E. Saunders, J. C. Detter, and R. U. Halden.* 2010. The Genome Sequence of the Dioxin Mineralizing Bacterium Sphingomonas wittichii RW1. J. Bacteriology 192(22):6101-6102.

Deo, R. P. and R. U. Halden.* 2010. In Silico Screening for Unmonitored, Potentially Problematic High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals Prone to Accumulate in Biosolids. Journal of Environmental Monitoring 12(10):1840-8145. DOI:10.1039/c001559h

Miller, T. R., D. R. Colquhoun, and R. U. Halden.* 2010. Identification of Wastewater Bacteria Involved in the Degradation of Triclocarban and its Non-Chlorinated Congener. J. Hazard. Mat. 183(1-3):766-772.

Pycke, B. F., T. M. Benn, P. Herckes, P. Westerhoff, and R. U. Halden*. 2011. Strategies for Quantifying C60 Fullerenes in Environmental and Biological Samples and Implications for Toxicological Studies in Environmental Health and Ecotoxicology. Trends in Analytical Chemistry 30(1):44-57. doi:10.1016/j.trac.2010.08.005

Walters, E., K. McClellan and R. U. Halden.* 2010. Occurrence and loss over three years of 72 pharmaceuticals and personal care products from biosolids-soil mixtures in outdoor mesocosms. Water Research 44:6011-6020.

Neta, G., L. R. Goldman,* D. Barr, A. Sjödin, B. J. Apelberg, J. Herbstman, F. R. Witter and R. U. Halden. 2010. Distribution and determinants of pesticide mixtures in cord serum using principal component analysis Environ. Sci. Technol. 44(14):5641–5648.

Guerrero-Preston, R., L. Goldman, L. Brebi-Mieville, C. Ili-Gangas, C. LeBron, M. Hernández-Arroyo, F. R. Witter, B. J. Apelberg, M. Roystacher, A. Jaffe, R. U. Halden, and D. Sidransky. 2010. Global DNA hypomethylation is associated with in utero exposure to cotinine and perfluorinated alkyl compounds. Epigenetics 5(6):539-546.

Chao, T.-C., Hansmeier, N. and R. U. Halden.* 2010. Towards proteome standards: The use of absolute quantitation in high-throughput biomarker discovery. J. Proteomics. 73(3):1641-1646.  Online at doi:10.1016/j.jprot.2010.04.004.

Hartmann. E. M., D. R. Colquhoun and R. U. Halden.* 2010. Identification of Putative Biomarkers for Toluene-Degrading Burkholderia and Pseudomonads using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry and Peptide Mass Fingerprinting. Bioscience, Biotechnology, Biochemistry 74(7):1470-1472.

McClellan K. and R. U. Halden.* 2010. Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Archived U.S. Biosolids from the 2001 EPA National Sewage Sludge Survey.  Water Res. 44(2):658-668. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2009.12.032

Halden, R. U.* 2010. Plastics and Health Risks. Annual Reviews of Public Health. 31:179-194. DOI:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.012809.103714

Deo, R. P. and R. U. Halden.* 2010. Comment on "The removal of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors and illicit drugs during wastewater treatment and its impact on the quality of receiving waters. Water Res. 44:2685-2687 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2009.11.040

Deo, R. P. and R. U. Halden.* 2010. Effect of sample filtration on the quality of monitoring data reported for organic compounds during wastewater treatment. J. Environ. Monit. 12:478-483. doi:10.1039/b919076g.

Deo, R. P. and R. U. Halden.* 2009. Empirical Model for Predicting Concentrations of Refractory Hydrophobic Organic Compounds in Digested Sludge from Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants. Environ. Chem. 6:544-550.

Heidler J. and R. U. Halden.* 2009. Fate of Organohalogens in U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants and Estimated Chemical Releases to Soils Nationwide from Biosolids Recycling. J. Environ. Monit. 11:2207-2215. Accessible online at: DOI:10.1039/B914324F.

Zhao, Y., K. Wang, H.-W. Ackermann, R. U. Halden, N. Jiao, and F. Chen.* 2010. Searching for a “Hidden” Prophage in a Marine Bacterium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 76(2):589-595.

2009 Publications

Deo, R. P. and R. U. Halden.* 2009. Empirical Model for Predicting Concentrations of Refractory Hydrophobic Organic Compounds in Digested Sludge from Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants. Environ. Chem. 6:544-550.

Heidler J. and R. U. Halden.* 2009. Fate of Organohalogens in U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants and Estimated Chemical Releases to Soils Nationwide from Biosolids Recycling. J. Environ. Monit. 11:2207-2215. Accessible online at: DOI:10.1039/B914324F.

Zhao, Y., K. Wang, H.-W. Ackermann, R. U. Halden, N. Jiao, and F. Chen.* 2010. Searching for a “Hidden” Prophage in a Marine Bacterium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 76(2):589-595.

Higgins, C. P.*, Z. J. Paesani, T.  E. A. Chalew, and R. U. Halden. 2009. Bioaccumulation of Triclocarban in Lumbriculus variegates. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 65:141-148.

Von Seggern, C., and R. U. Halden.*  2009. Detection of bioterrorism agents and related public health threats utilising matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). Int. J. Health Sci. 2(2):197-203.

Halden,* R. U. 2009. Book Review: “Pharma-Ecology – The Occurrence and Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment” by Patrick K. Jjimba. Environ. Health Perspect. 117(4):A172.

Zhang, Y., N. Jiao, D. R. Colquhoun, R. U. Halden, and F. Cheng.* 2009. Protein Modifications Related to Phage Resistance in a Marine Roseobacter. Aquatic Microbial Ecology. 55(2):203-207.

Chalew, T. and R. U. Halden.*  2009. Environmental Exposure of Aquatic and Terrestrial Biota to Triclosan and Triclocarban. J. Am. Water Res. Assoc. 45(1):3-13.

Colquhoun, D. R., L. R. Goldman, R. N. Cole, M. Gucek, M. Mansharamani, F. R. Witter, B. J. Apelberg, and R. U. Halden.* 2009. Global Screening of Human Cord Blood Proteomes for Biomarkers of Toxic Exposure. Environmental Health Perspectives 117(5):832-838.

2008 Publications

Heidler, J. and R. U. Halden. 2008. Meta-analysis of Mass Balances for Monitoring Chemical Fate during Wastewater Treatment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(17):6324-6332. HTML or PDF.

Rittmann, B. E., R. Krajmalnik-Brown, and R. U. Halden. 2008. Pre-genomic, genomic and post-genomic study of microbial communities involved in bioenergy. Nature Reviews. Microbiology 6(8):604-612.

Apelberg B. J., Goldman L. R., Halden, R. U., Witter, F. R., Herbstman, J. B., and Needham, L. L. 2008. Perfluoroalkane acids: Apelberg et al. respond. Environ. Health Perspect. 116(6):A238-9.

Herbstman, J. B., A. Sjodin, B. J. Apelberg, F. R. Witter, R. U. Halden, D. G. Patterson, Jr., S. R. Panny, L. L. Needham and L. R. Goldman. 2008. Birth Delivery Mode Modifies the Associations between Prenatal PCB and PBDE and Neonatal Thyroid Hormone Levels. Environ. Health Perspect. EHP-in-Press. doi:10.1289/ehp.11379.

Miller, T. R., J. Heidler, S. N. Chillrud, A. DeLaquil, J. C. Ritchie, J. N. Mihalic, R. Bopp, and R. U. Halden. 2008. Fate of Triclosan and Evidence for Reductive Dechlorination of Triclocarban in Estuarine Sediment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42:4570-4576. HTML or PDF.

Young, T.A., J. Heidler, C. R. Matos-Perez, A. Sapkota, T. Toler, K. E. Gibson, K. J. Schwab and R. U. Halden. 2008. Ab Initio and In Situ Comparison of Organic Wastewater Compounds as Indicators of Sewage-derived Microbes in Surface Waters. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(9); 3335-3340.

Kim, S. R., R. U. Halden, and T. J. Buckley. 2008. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Human Milk of Nonsmoking U.S. Women. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(7); 2663-2667.

2007 Publications

Herbstman J. B., Sjodin A., Apelberg B. J., Witter F. R., Patterson D. G., Halden, R. U., Jones, R. S., Park, A., Zhang, Y., Heidler, J., Needham, L. L., and Goldman, L. R. 2007. Determinants of Prenatal Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in an Urban Population. Environ. Health Perspect. 115(12):1794-800.

Apelberg, B. J., F. R. Witter, J. B. Herbstman, A. M. Calafat, R. U. Halden, L. L. Needham, and L. R. Goldman. 2007. Cord Serum Concentrations of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in Relation to Weight and Size at Birth. Environ. Health Perspect. 115(11):1670-1676.

Halden, R. U. (Contributing Author). 2007. Plans and Practices for Groundwater Protection at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Final Report, Committee for the Technical Assessment of Environmental Programs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. ISBN-10: 0-309-10619-2. 104 Pages. Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, Division of Earth and Life Studies. National Research Council of The National Academies, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

Apelberg, B. J., Goldman, L. R., Calafat, A. M., Herbstman, J. B., Kuklenyik, Z., Heidler, J., Needham, L. N., Halden, R. U., and F. R. Witter. 2007. Determinants of Fetal Exposure to Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds in Baltimore, Maryland. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41(11): 3891-3897.

Kim, S. R., Halden, R. U., and T. J. Buckley. 2007. Volatile Organic Compounds in Human Milk: Methods and Measurements. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41(5):1662-1667

Miller, T. R., M. P. Franklin, and R. U. Halden. 2007. Bacterial Community Analysis of Shallow Groundwater Undergoing Sequential Anaerobic and Aerobic Chloroethene Biotransformation. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 60(2):299-311.

Heidler, J., and R. U. Halden. 2007. Mass Balance Assessment of Triclosan Removal During Conventional Sewage Treatment. Chemosphere 66(2):362-369.

Sapkota, A., J. Heidler, and R. U. Halden. 2007. Detection of Triclocarban and Two Co-Contaminating Chlorocarbanilides in U.S. Aquatic Environments Using Isotope Dilution Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Environ. Res. 103(1):21-29.