Carlos Vasquez

Academic Status:

Junior with a conentration in pre-health studies

Research Focus:

Disinfectant byproducts such as Trihalomethanes (THMs)

Meet Carlos Vazquez, a current junior at The University of Tampa with a concentration on pre-health studies. Originally from the island of Puerto Rico, Carlos moved to Tampa to pursue a better education. With a passion for health-care and commitment to learning, Carlos is on a determined path to medical school, enthusiastic about making a meaningful impact in the world of medicine.

Carlos is interested in disinfectant byproducts such as Trihalomethanes (THMs) which are a group of four chemicals formed during the disinfection and chlorination of water. Unfortunately, these by-products accumulate in sources such as pipes for drinking water and have been linked to various fetal defects and cancers. Each of the four THMs are on the Environmental Protection Agency’s published list of regulated concentrations for disinfection by-products. Carlos is measuring free chlorine in the Tampa Bay Area, which is the precursor to THMs, to compare against levels of head and neck cancer. Additionally, Carlos is working on the obesity research project where he is raising zebrafish on normal and high fat diet to continue the lab’s zebrafish model of obesity.