Hamidreza Sharifan, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Sharifan received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, along with two Master of Science degrees, one in Environmental Process Engineering from the University of Stuttgart in Germany, and another in Environmental Engineering from Texas Tech University. His research group, Sharifarm, investigates the fate, transport, and remediation of emerging contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), heavy metals, and engineered nanomaterials in agricultural and environmental systems, with particular focus on soil-plant-water interactions, biogeochemistry, and nano-enabled remediation technologies. He serves on the Early Career Editorial Boards of the  Chemical Engineering Journal  and  Water Process Engineering . His research has been funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Research Lab

1. Fate, Transport, and Sensing Technologies of Emerging Contaminants
My research group develops analytical and sensor-based approaches to track of emerging contaminants including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through soil, groundwater, and the vadose zone, and to detect them at the trace concentrations relevant to drinking water and agricultural exposure.
2. Nanomaterial-Enabled Environmental Remediation & Phy(to)remediation
We investigate how engineered nanomaterials can be applied to remediate contaminated soil and water while managing their own ecotoxicological footprint. Current and recent projects include nanomaterial-enabled microalgae systems for phycoremediation and carbon sequestration, biochar- and aerogel-based composites for removing dyes, PAHs, and heavy metals from water, and funded through USDA-NIFA nanomaterials that immobilize short- and long-chain PFAS in the alfalfa-soil system.

Mohammadi, Somayeh, Melanie A. Samalot, William Bahureksa, Simeon Schum, and Hamidreza Sharifan. "Chip-sized polymeric-engineered ferrimagnetic nanocomposites for rapid and sensitive fluorescence-based detection of PFOA in water samples."  Chemical Engineering Journal  (2026): 176149.
Mohammadi, Somayeh, Christian Sandoval-Pauker, Zayra N. Dorado, Thomas P. Senftle, Robert Pankow, and Hamidreza Sharifan. "Fluorescent sodium alginate hydrogel–carbon dots sensor for detecting perfluorooctanoic acid in potable water."  Analytical Chemistry  97, no. 18 (2025): 10075-10084.
Ghafarizadeh, Azin, Maryam Madadkar Haghjou, and Hamidreza Sharifan. "Integrated bioprocess engineering of Spirulina platensis for crude-oil phycoremediation and enhanced PHB biosynthesis under optimized trophic regimes."  Biomass and Bioenergy  216 (2027): 109708.
Davoodi, Soheila, and Hamidreza Sharifan. "Zinc speciation governs PFHpA bioavailability, root surface complexation, and oxidative stress in soil–alfalfa systems: Molecular evidence from XPS and FTIR."  Chemical Engineering Journal  (2026): 180501.
Salmeron Covarrubias, Luis Pablo, Kavitha Beluri, Yasaman Mohammadi, Nusrat Easmin, Oskar A. Palacios, and Hamidreza Sharifan. "Advanced nanoenabled microalgae systems: Integrating oxidative stress-induced metabolic reprogramming and enhanced lipid biosynthesis for next-generation biofuel production."  ACS Applied Bio Materials  8, no. 4 (2025): 3513-3524.

Grants
USDA-AFRI-NIFA, "Interaction of Nanomaterials in the Alfalfa-Soil System to Immobilize Short- and Long-Chain PFAS," Award #2024-67022-42827, 2024–2027.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-CBTS, "Resilience Against Agroterrorism: Evaluating the Efficacy of FDA-Approved Metallic Oxide Nanoparticles in Mitigating Fungal Pathogen Impact on Crops," 2024-2026