Anirban Basu

  • Research Scientist in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Profile Headshot

Overview

Anirban Basu is an environmental isotope geochemist. His research focuses on isotopic tracers of metal cycling in the environment and in biological systems. Metal stable isotopes record the chemical changes responsible for their environmental distribution and redistribution. His research has developed novel isotopic tracers to track cycling of toxic heavy metals, nutrients, and radionuclides. His current research focuses on developing metal isotopic biomarkers to understand health effects of metals and quantify exposure. Metal isotope analysis uniquely reveals the molecular mechanisms of metal-organic reactions employed by cellular biochemistry. This metal’s eye view of metal-organic interactions from isotopic composition of biological samples (e.g., blood, urine) is a powerful tool to probe accumulation of metals in human body, disruption of metabolism and disease development, and is a key to develop reliable non-invasive biomarkers of metal exposure.

Office Location: 630 West 168th Street, VP&S Room 16-413

Academic Appointments

  • Research Scientist in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • PhD, 2013 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Research

Research Interests

  • Environmental Health
  • Environmental Metal Cycling
  • Groundwater
  • Isotopic tracers
  • Metal isotopic biomarkers
  • Metals

Selected Publications

Basu, A., Wanner. C., Johnson, T.M., Lundstrom, C.C., Sanford, R.A., Löffler, F.E., Boyanov, M.I., Kemner, K.M. (2020) Microbial U isotope fractionation depends on U(VI) reduction rate. Environmental Science and Technology, 54, 4, 2295-2303.  

Schilling, K., Basu, A., Sanford, R., Johnson, T.M., Pallud, C., Mason, P.R.D (2020). Diversity of mass-dependent isotopic fractionation of selenium by microbial reduction of Se-oxyanions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 276: 274-288.

Brown, S.T., Basu, A., Ding, X, Christensen J, and DePaolo, D.J. (2018) Uranium Isotope Fractionation by Abiotic Reductive Precipitation. Proceedings of National Academy of Science, 115 (35), 8688-8693.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805234115.

Basu, A., Brown, S.T., Christensen, J.N., DePaolo, D.J., Reimus, P.W., Heikoop, J.M., Woldegabriel, G., Simmons, A.M., House, B., Hartmann, M., Maher, K. (2015) Isotopic and geochemical tracers for U(VI) reduction and U mobility at an in-situ recovery U mine. Environmental Science & Technology, 49, 10, 5939-5947.

Basu, A., Sanford, R.A., Johnson, T.M., Lundstrom, C.C., Löffler, F.E. (2014) Uranium isotopic fractionation factors during U(VI) reduction by bacterial isolates. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 136, 100-113.