Faculty Profile
Nicholas Pflug

Assistant Professor

Department of Chemistry
315 Jahn Laboratory

ncpflug@esf.edu
315-470-6826

Education

Postdoctoral, Environmental Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 2018-2021

Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Iowa, 2017

M.S., Chemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, 2013

Research

Research in the Pflug Lab focuses on the identification and fate of organic chemicals in natural and engineered environmental systems.

Research efforts in the Pflug Lab utilize a variety of methods from environmental chemistry, natural products chemistry, and organic synthesis to address the challenges of environmental contamination and its effects on human and ecosystem health and also to fill knowledge gaps in key biophysicochemical processes of organic compounds in the environment.

Our research focuses on the following four areas: (i) aquatic photochemistry of organic chemicals (e.g., pollutants, pheromones, DOM, and natural toxins), (ii) harmful algal bloom toxin analysis and monitoring, (iii) bioremediation of pollutants of emerging concern (e.g., phyto- and mycoremediation of PFAS), and (iv) chemical ecology of invasive pest species (e.g., identification and synthesis of semiochemicals for the purpose of biocontrol). For this work, an emphasis is placed on kinetics, structure elucidation, mechanistic studies, biological effects, and occurrence studies. Current funding for the projects derives from a variety of federal agencies such as: NOAA, NSF, and USDA. 

Students will gain proficiency in the areas of organic synthesis, chemical analysis, separations, extractions, isolations, and structure elucidation, and natural photochemical processes (e.g., direct and indirect photolysis).

Please feel free to email me directly to ask questions and express your interest in our program.

Courses Taught

FCH 223: Organic Chemistry II

FCH 584: Spectrometric Identification of Organic Compounds

Current Graduate Students

Makayla Light

mlight@esf.edu 

• Degree Sought: PhD
• Area of Study: Environmental Chemistry
• Project: Isolation, identification, and synthesis of sex-specific pheromones of a parasitoid wasp of the Emerald Ash Borer

Morgan Fatowe

mfatowe@esf.edu

• Degree Sought: PhD
• Area of Study: Environmental Chemistry
• Project: Aquatic photochemistry of livestock feed additives 

Samantha Freeman

sfreeman1@esf.edu

• Degree Sought: PhD
• Area of Study: Environmental Chemistry
• Project: Subcellular distribution and translocation mechanism of PFAS in hyperaccumulator plants
• Co-advisor: Dr. Lee Newman

Zac Triumph

ztriumph@esf.edu

• Degree Sought: PhD
• Area of Study: Organic Chemistry of Natural Products
• Project: Expansion of our anatoxin-a monitoring methods to include new and additional congeners

Gianna Leippert

gyleippe@esf.edu

• Degree Sought: MS
• Area of Study: Environmental Chemistry
• Project: Occurrence of PFAS in vegetative wildlife food sources at reforested contamination sites
• Co-advisor: Dr. Lee Newman

Michaela Fitzgerald

mfitzgerald@esf.edu

• Degree Sought: PhD
• Area of Study: Chemical Ecology
• Project: Chemical ecology of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and Hemlock Borer
• Co-advisor: Dr. Steve Teale

Current Postdocs

Dr. Jamie Nunziata

janunzia@esf.edu 

• Education: PhD, Chemistry, University of South Florida, 2023
• Project: Total synthesis of anatoxin-a and related congeners

Past Advisees

Sarah Crane - BS Environmental Chemistry (Honors Program), 2023. Current Position: PhD student, University of Iowa, Chemistry.

Selected Publications

Complete Listing: Google Scholar

• Pflug, N.C.; Kral, A.K.; Hankard, M.K., Breuckman, K.C.; Kolodziej, E.P.; Gloer, J.B.; Wammer, K.H.; Cwiertny, D.M. Photolysis of Trenbolone Acetate Metabolites in the Presence of Nucleophiles: Evidence for Metastable Photoaddition Products and Reversible Associations with Dissolved Organic Matter. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020, 54, 12181-12190.
• Pflug, N.C.; Patterson, E.V.; Martinovic-Weigelt, D.; Kolodziej, E.P.; Gloer, J.B.; McNeill, K.; Cwiertny, D.M.; Wammer, K.H. Intramolecular [2+2] Photocycloaddition of Altrenogest: Confirmation of Product Structure, Theoretical Mechanistic Insight, and Bioactivity Assessment. J. Org. Chem. 2019, 84, 11366-11371.
• Apell, J.N.; Pflug, N.C.; McNeill, K. Photodegradation of Fludioxonil and Other Pyrroles: The Importance of Indirect Photodegradation for Understanding Environmental Fate and Photoproduct Formation. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2019, 53, 11240-11250.
• Pflug, N.C.; Knutson, C.J.; Martinovic-Weigelt, D.; Swenson, D.C.; Wammer, K.H.; Cwiertny, D.M.; Gloer, J.B. Bioactive Rearrangement Products from Aqueous Photolysis of Pharmaceutical Steroids. Org. Lett. 2019, 21, 3568-3571.
• Klarich, K.L.; Pflug, N.C.; DeWald, E.M.; Hladik, M.L.; Kolpin, D.W.; Cwiertny, D.M.; LeFevre, G.H. Occurrence of Neonicotinoid Insecticides in Finished Drinking Water and Fate during Drinking Water Treatment. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2017, 4, 168-173.