Jane Wu is getting an early start at the University of Pennsylvania on a possible future career in research to help save the environment and preserve human health.

An earth science major with a concentration in environmental science, Wu, from Oxford, Miss., spent three months as part of an independent research project intern at the University of Copenhagen’s Department for Plant and Environmental Chemistry to assess the risk of a naturally occurring plant carcinogen, ptaquiloside, or PTA, on Denmark’s drinking water supply. 

From May to August Wu, a junior, worked with a team of researchers studying whether the content of metals such as iron, magnesium, copper, manganese and nickel in the water would have any effect on the rate of PTA degradation.

“Denmark draws its water directly from the ground, with very little or no chemical treatments before people use it,” says Wu. “With good reason many people feel like a risk assessment for direct contamination of groundwater by PTA is necessary in some areas.”

The PTA compound has been shown to be carcinogenic to animals and humans. It can increase the risk of cancer when the plant is ingested or if the spores are inhaled. Studies have shown that cows that eat bracken plants also produce milk that contains PTA, which increases the risk of gastrointestinal cancers for anyone who drinks the milk.

Wu’s research team found that the metals in the groundwater had little or no effect on the rate of degradation of PTA.

With metals excluded as a risk factor, Wu says, “now we need only three indicators —- time, temperature and pH -— to evaluate the cancer risk from PTA from groundwater sources. This is helpful in environmental risk evaluation cases as it simplifies the risk assessment process.”

Wu is currently co-authoring a paper with her fellow researchers on the Copenhagen project.

She plans to return to Denmark this coming summer and fall to continue research on PTA as part of her bachelor’s thesis.  Wu hopes to eventually become a researcher for environmentally relevant issues in a European country.

Wu became aware of the internship last spring after contacting several professors at the University of Copenhagen. Her interest in studying in Denmark grew from a year she spent as a high school exchange student in Germany.

“As Germany and much of northern Europe has a very different mentality about the environment than does the U.S., I wanted to spend some time in a different northern European country,” says Wu. “As someone who is very interested in sustainability and environmental concerns, it was an enriching experience. I definitely know much more about the research world now than I did a few months ago.”