In commemoration of Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month we celebrate and highlight the scholarly achievements and contributions of UF Water Institute affiliated Latinx/Hispanic faculty, staff and students working to understand and solve interdisciplinary water issues.

Lorna Bravo

Lorna Bravo currently serves as UF/IFAS Broward County Extension Director and Urban Horticulture Agent. She leads Broward County’s Master Gardener Volunteer and Florida Friendly Landscaping Programs and teaches a new urban Water Ambassador Short Course. She combines her previous architectural experience and accreditations with horticultural expertise to deliver sustainable and environmentally friendly water conservation programs in Broward County to help make communities greener. She is a member of the UF/IFAS Extension South Florida Hydroponics Initiative Team, which won the National Award under the American Society for Horticulture Science (ASHS) video section in August 2020. Lorna is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Florida in the Department of Environmental Horticulture, where she researches water conservation in the built environment.

Learn more about Lorna’s work: http://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/broward/who-we-are/

Follow her on Twitter: @HortUrban

Dr. Maite De Maria

Maite De Maria is a PhD graduate and Postdoctoral Associate at the Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses on the relationship between anthropogenic activities and aquatic wildlife and ecosystems. Her doctoral dissertation in environmental toxicology aimed to understand the physiological effects of contaminants in wildlife, particularly the renal and immune consequences of exposure to herbicides through water in largemouth bass and manatees. As part of her PhD research, she led a study that assessed the exposure to glyphosate of manatees seeking a warm-water refuge in Crystal River and in South Florida. She is also co-first author of a critical review of the risk that chemotherapeutic drugs have on aquatic species and summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding their levels in the environment.

Maite was awarded the 2021 UF’s Lockhart Fellowship, which honors PhD candidates that are both outstanding researchers and that contribute to creating a more inclusive and diverse community.

Learn more about Maite: https://maitedemaria.wordpress.com/

September 15, 2021