Biographical Info

Dr. Young is a Professor and Chair in Rutgers Department of Environmental Sciences and Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. She also serves on the EC-US Task Force on Environmental Biotechnology.

Research Areas

Examining the instrinsic ability of anaerobic communities from NY-NJ Harbor sediments todegrade alkanes and PAHs, and environmental factors which affect the activity Determining the novel microbial chemistry of the anaerobic pathways of naphthalene, methylnapthalene and phenanthrene by active consortia, and that of the alkanes by newly isolated pure cultures; Investigating methods to improve or enhance natural rates of biodegradation; Developing biochemical markers for assessing intrinsic biodegradation; Isolating novel anaerobes able to degrade additional petroleum constituents and other aromatic compounds; Characterizing the anaerobic toluene pathway in a denitrifying strain with a molecular genetic approach.

Scholarly Activities

• 2001 Research Excellence Award, Board of Trustees, Rutgers Univeristy
• 1999 Research Excellence Award, Cook College, NJ Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University
• 1996 Invited presentation to the Presidents’ Circle of the National Academy of Sciences (Advisory group to NAS President Bruce Albert, comprised of 100 buisness leaders) – Colloquium on “Water Resources for the 21st Century”; presentation title, “Environmental Biotechnology”

Recent Publications

1. Zhang, J, Bradbury, KE, Young, L, Gontijo de Castro, T. Trans-fat labelling and potential presence of industrially produced trans-fat in the New Zealand packaged food supply: 2015-2019 & 2022. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024; :. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2024.09.027. PubMed PMID:39490279
2. Garrett, A, Allen, S, Durkie, M, Burghel, GJ, Robinson, R, Callaway, A, Field, J, Frugtniet, B, Palmer-Smith, S, Grant, J et al.. Classification of Variants of Reduced Penetrance in High Penetrance Cancer Susceptibility Genes: Framework for Genetics Clinicians and Clinical Scientists by CanVIG-UK (Cancer Variant Interpretation Group-UK). Genet Med. 2024; :101305. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2024.101305. PubMed PMID:39489894
3. Mecê, P, Gocho, K, Harmening, W, Rossi, E, Young, L. Editorial: Advances in optical imaging for ophthalmology: new developments, clinical applications and perspectives. Front Ophthalmol (Lausanne). 2024;4 :1496015. doi: 10.3389/fopht.2024.1496015. PubMed PMID:39479555 PubMed Central PMC11521964
4. Smith, E, Young, L, Bakaeen, FG. The Ongoing Dilemma of Timing Noncardiac Surgery After NSTEMI. JAMA Surg. 2024; :. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2024.4698. PubMed PMID:39475962
5. Johnsen, DC, Marchini, L, Weber-Gasparoni, K, Warren, J, Garaicoa-Pazmino, C, Young, LB, Stanford, CM, Jain, A, Steinkamp, H. Does dental treatment bring health to high-risk people with recurring disease?. J Dent Educ. 2024; :. doi: 10.1002/jdd.13762. PubMed PMID:39473036
6. Young, L, Vergara, R, Henriquez, J, Fong, A, Al-Assil, T, Shebrain, S, Munene, G. Financial Toxicity in Complex Gastrointestinal Surgery and Correlation with Patient Reported Outcomes. Ann Surg. 2024; :. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000006559. PubMed PMID:39471079
7. Carvalho, PEP, Strepkos, D, Alexandrou, M, Mutlu, D, Ser, OS, Choi, JW, Gorgulu, S, Jaffer, FA, Chandwaney, R, Alaswad, K et al.. Intravascular Lithotripsy versus Rotational Atherectomy in Coronary Chronic Total Occlusions: Analysis from the PROGRESS-CTO registry. Am J Cardiol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2024.10.018. PubMed PMID:39454696