Barbara Maher

Barbara Ann Maher is a Professor of Environmental Science at Lancaster University. She serves as co-director of the centre for environmental magnetism & palaeomagnetism[2] and works on magnetic nanoparticles and pollution.[3]

Barbara Maher
Born
Barbara Ann Maher

1960 (age 59–60)
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool (BSc, PhD)
AwardsChree Medal and Prize (2005)
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2006)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsGeophysics
Earth science
Paleoclimate
Environmental magnetism
Paleomagnetism[2]
InstitutionsLancaster University
University of East Anglia
University of Edinburgh
ThesisOrigins and transformations of magnetic minerals in soils (1984)
Websitelancaster.ac.uk/lec/about-us/people/barbara-maher

Education and early career

Maher earned her bachelor's degree in geography at the University of Liverpool. She remained there for her graduate studies, earning a PhD in environmental geophysics for research on the origins and transformations of magnetic minerals in soils.[4]

Career and research

After completing her PhD, Maher was made a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Fellow at the University of Edinburgh.[5] She joined the University of East Anglia as a lecturer in 1987 and was promoted to Reader in 1998.[5] Here she investigated the magnetic properties of ultrafine sub-micron magnetites.[6][7] Using her understanding of magnetic minerals, she evaluated the climate of the Loess Plateau.[8][9] She developed spatial and temporal reconstructions of the Asian palaeomonsoon.[10] She was the Royal Institution Scientists for the new century lecturer in 1999.[5] She edited the book Quaternary Climates, Environments and Magnetism in 1999.[11]

Maher studies magnetic nanoparticles to track climate change and changes in human health.[1] She was described by Richard Harrison as having "single-handedly developed the field of environmental magnetism".[12] She demonstrated that soils that were exposed to higher rainfall make more magnetite.[1] She has studied how windblown dusts impacted the levels of greenhouse gases.[1] She is interested in magnetic records of Quaternary terrestrial sediments.[13] She launched the Quantifying Uncertainty in the Earth System (QUEST) Working Group on Dust in 2008.[14]

Maher became interested in metal-rich particulate pollution.[15] In 2013 Maher demonstrated that silver birch trees could be used as pollution filters.[16][17] The result was part of an investigation into the impact of roadside trees on the concentration of particulate matter found in people's homes.[18] Silver birch trees are covered in tiny hairs, which can trap the particulate matter whilst allowing clean air to circulate.[16] The matter is washed off the leaves when it rains, allowing the birch trees to trap even more particulate matter.[16] Her work was examined by Michael Mosley and Gabriel Weston on the BBC show Trust Me, I'm a Doctor.[16][19] They found that the pollution collected in houses protected by silver birch trees was 50 - 60% lower than in houses without them.[20][21][22]

In 2016 Maher found toxic nanoparticles in human brain tissue.[23][24][25][26] By studying the nanoparticles using an electron microscope, Maher found they were small and round, indicating that they had been formed at high temperatures.[27] As the nanoparticles have diameters that are less than 200 nm, they can enter the brain through the olfactory nerve.[28] Magnetite can produce reactive oxygen species in the brain.[23] Maher became concerned that these magnetite particles could be linked to Alzheimer's disease, mental illness and reduced intelligence.[23][29] She appeared on BBC Radio 4's Inside Science in 2018, discussing the Government of the United Kingdom Clean Air Strategy.[30]

Awards and honours
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References
  1. Anon (2006). "Professor Barbara Maher: Research Fellow". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 2019-01-29.
  2. Barbara Maher publications indexed by Google Scholar
  3. ORCID 0000-0002-8759-8214
  4. Maher, Barbara Ann (1984). Origins and transformations of magnetic minerals in soils. copac.jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Liverpool. OCLC 499883188. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.354553. Archived from the original on 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  5. "Prof. Barbara A Maher". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  6. Maher, Barbara A. (1988). "Magnetic properties of some synthetic sub-micron magnetites". Geophysical Journal International. 94 (1): 83–96. Bibcode:1988GeoJI..94...83M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.1988.tb03429.x. ISSN 0956-540X.
  7. Maher, Barbara A.; Taylor, Reginald M. (1988). "Formation of ultrafine-grained magnetite in soils". Nature. 336 (6197): 368–370. Bibcode:1988Natur.336..368M. doi:10.1038/336368a0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4338921.
  8. Maher, Barbara A.; Thompson, Roy (1991). "Mineral magnetic record of the Chinese loess and paleosols". Geology. 19 (1): 3–6. Bibcode:1991Geo....19....3M. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0003:MMROTC>2.3.CO;2. ISSN 0091-7613.
  9. Maher, Barbara A. (1998). "Magnetic properties of modern soils and Quaternary loessic paleosols: paleoclimatic implications". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 137 (1): 25–54. Bibcode:1998PPP...137...25M. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(97)00103-X. ISSN 0031-0182.
  10. Maher, B. A.; Thompson, R.; Zhou, L. P. (1994). "Spatial and temporal reconstructions of changes in the Asian palaeomonsoon: A new mineral magnetic approach". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 125 (1): 461–471. Bibcode:1994E&PSL.125..461M. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(94)90232-1. ISSN 0012-821X.
  11. Maher, Barbara A.; Thompson, Roy, eds. (1999). Quaternary Climates, Environments and Magnetism. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511535635. ISBN 9780521624176.
  12. University, Lancaster. ""Outstanding scientist" wins medal". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  13. "Barbara Maher - Research Portal | Lancaster University". research.lancs.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  14. "Home". bridge.bris.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  15. Maher, B. A.; Moore, C.; Matzka, J. (2008). "Spatial variation in vehicle-derived metal pollution identified by magnetic and elemental analysis of roadside tree leaves" (PDF). Atmospheric Environment. 42 (2): 364–373. Bibcode:2008AtmEn..42..364M. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.09.013. ISSN 1352-2310.
  16. "BBC Two - Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, Series 1 - The big air pollution experiment". BBC. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  17. "Trees Trap Environmental Particulate Matter". IFLScience. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  18. Maher, Barbara A.; Ahmed, Imad A. M.; Davison, Brian; Karloukovski, Vassil; Clarke, Robert (2013). "Impact of Roadside Tree Lines on Indoor Concentrations of Traffic-Derived Particulate Matter". Environmental Science & Technology. 47 (23): 13737–13744. Bibcode:2013EnST...4713737M. doi:10.1021/es404363m. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 24215538.
  19. University, Lancaster. "Professor on BBC TV health programme | Lancaster University". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  20. "PlantsAtWork.org.uk - Trust Me I'm a Doctor: plants clean up". plantsatwork.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  21. Summers, Hannah (2013-10-20). "Tree of life: birch filters out deadly diesel pollution". thetimes.co.uk. The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 2019-01-19. (subscription required)
  22. "Silver birches the answer to pollution?". Monmouthshire Beacon. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  23. Carrington, Damian (2016-09-05). "Toxic air pollution particles found in human brains". theguardian.com. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  24. University, Lancaster. "Toxic air pollution nanoparticles discovered in the human brain | Lancaster University". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  25. Meera Senthilingam. "Air pollution particles found inside human brains". CNN. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  26. "Magnetite In the Brain Probably Comes From Air Pollution". IFLScience. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  27. Skwarecki, Beth (2016). "Chemicals Linked to Health Hazards Are Common in Household Dust". scientificamerican.com. Scientific American. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  28. Calderon-Garciduenas, Lilian; Torres-Jardón, Ricardo; Mann, David M. A.; Allsop, David; Foulds, Penelope G.; MacLaren, Donald A.; Karloukovski, Vassil; Ahmed, Imad A. M.; Maher, Barbara A. (2016). "Magnetite pollution nanoparticles in the human brain". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113 (39): 10797–10801. Bibcode:2016PNAS..11310797M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1605941113. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 5047173. PMID 27601646.
  29. Knapton, Sarah (2016-09-05). "'Air pollution' particles linked to Alzheimer's found in human brain". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  30. "BBC Radio 4 - BBC Inside Science, Clean Air Strategy, Fast Radio Bursts and Kuba Kingdom". BBC. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  31. "Appleton medal recipients". iop.org. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  32. "QRA Executive Committee 2009" (PDF). QRA. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  33. "Barbara Maher". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
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