Andee Lister

Hi, my name is Andee Lister and I am a first year Ph.D. student in the Earth Sciences and Sustainability (SES) program at Northern Arizona University. I am from Dilcon, AZ which is a small community on the Navajo reservation. My dissertation project focuses on the bioaccumulation of uranium in sheep that graze on or near abandoned uranium mine sites on the Navajo Nation. As an undergraduate, I knew that I wanted to do research, I just didn’t know what field of chemistry. Luckily, I had a friend that was working in Dr. Jani Ingram’s lab environmental analytical lab and that is how I got involved in research. I find the work that I am doing is interesting and it is very interdisciplinary. In the future I look forward to conducting research that helps indigenous and underrepresented communities in the US. The impact that the project has had on my personal life and career is positive, in that I like being able to help people. Additionally, I get to interact with professionals/researchers from all types of disciplines, and to get their input in the work that I am doing is very helpful.


Scientific Abstracts and Presentations

Oral Presentations

  • Health and Well-being Impact of Contamination on Traditional Food on Navajo. International Society of Exposure Science Conference, Durham NC, October 2017
  • Characterizing the Extent of Uranium Contamination in Sheep Grazing near Abandon Uranium Mines on the Navajo Reservation. Washington DC, August 2017
  • Characterization of Uranium Exposure in Sheep Grazing Near Abandoned Uranium Mines on the Navajo Reservation. American Chemical Society Conference, San Francisco CA, April 2017
  • Uranium Levels in Sheep Grazing Near Abandoned Uranium Mines on the Navajo Reservation. American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Conference, Phoenix AZ, November 2015.
  • Uranium Exposure of Sheep in Cameron and Leupp, AZ. Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board Conference, Window Rock AZ, October 2015
  • The Bioaccumulation of Uranium in Sheep Grazing Near Abandoned Uranium Mines on the Navajo Reservation. 25th Native Research Network Conference, Phoenix AZ, June 2014.

Poster Presentations

  • Characterization of Uranium Exposure in Sheep Grazing Near Abandon Uranium Mines. Annual Grantees Meeting for the NIH/EPA Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research, Albuquerque NM, December 2017
  • Characterization of Uranium in Soils Collected Near an Abandoned Mine Site on the Navajo Reservation. 24th Annual Undergraduate Biology Research Program Conference, Tucson, AZ, January 2013

Published Documents

  • The bioaccumulation of uranium in sheep heart and kidney: the impact of contaminated traditional food sources on the Navajo reservation. (2018)