Sarah Donaher

Assistant Professor

Biography

Sarah Donaher, assistant professor in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, graduated with her PhD in environmental engineering and earth sciences from Clemson University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from Clemson and a master’s degree in marine science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Donaher served a six-month AmeriCorps term as a Montana Conservation Corps Fellow with the Bureau of Land Management and is currently a member of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Task Group 125: Ecosystem Services in Environmental Radiological Protection.

Research

• Mobility, bioavailability, and ecotoxicity of pollutants in aquatic and coastal systems, especially radioactive and emerging contaminants
• Promoting secure, sustainable, and safe emergency response, decontamination, decommissioning, and environmental management of nuclear facilities
• Improving engineering education through interdisciplinary activities and service-based learning

Education

• PhD, Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 2024
• MS, Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 2020
• BS, Environmental Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 2017

Professional Service

• Member, Task Group 125 “Ecosystem Services in Environmental Radiological Protection,” International Commission on Radiological Protection, 2022–present
• Session Chair, “Environmental behavior and ecotoxicology of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM),” SETAC 44^th North American Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY, 2023

Awards and Recognitions

• Dysart Fellowship in Environmental Engineering, Clemson University, 2023
• Young Investigator Award, International Union of Radioecology, 2022
• Richard J. Burk Fellowship, Health Physics Society, 2021
• Impact Award, UNC Graduate Education Board, 2020

Publications

A full list of publications is available at her Google Scholar Profile.

E. Donaher, P. Van den Hurk, and N.E. Martinez. 2025. Oxidative stress and filtration responses in Atlantic ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) exposed to radium-226. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, vgae005.

E. Donaher, S. L. Estes, R. P. Dunn, A. K. Gonzales, B. A. Powell, and N. E. Martinez. 2024. Site- and species-specific metal concentrations, mobility, and bioavailability in sediment, flora, and fauna of a southeastern United States salt marsh. Science of the Total Environment, 28(922):171262.

E. Martinez, A. Canoba, S. E. Donaher, J. Garnier-Laplace, S. Kinase, A. Mayall, K. Stark, and J. Whicker. 2023. An Introduction to Ecosystem Services for Radiological Protection. Annals of the ICRP 52(1-2) Annex, 246-254.

E. Donaher and P. Van den Hurk. 2023. Ecotoxicology of the herbicide paraquat: effects on wildlife and knowledge gaps. Ecotoxicology, 32:1187-1199.

K. Gonzales, S. E. Donaher, B. D. Wattier, and N. E. Martinez. 2023. Exposure of Lemna minor (common duckweed) to mixtures of uranium and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 42(11):2412-2421.

E. Donaher, R. Dunn, A. Gonzales, B. Wattier, B. Powell, and N. E. Martinez. 2023. Tissue-specific toxicokinetics of aqueous radium-226 in an estuarine mussel, Geukensia demissa. Environmental Science and Technology 57:3187-3197 [Correction (units) 57:8457-8459].

Hoelbling Phillips, S. E. Donaher, B. A. Powell, N. Tharayil, and N. E. Martinez. 2023. The influence of iron and ligand type on plutonium uptake in two strains of hydroponically grown corn (Zea mays). Health Physics 124:95-105.

H. Wellman, C. J. Baillie, B. Puckett, S. E. Donaher, S. N. Trackenberg, and R. K. Gittman. 2022. Reef design and site hydrodynamics mediate oyster restoration and marsh stabilization outcomes. Journal of Applied Ecology 32(2): e2405.

E. Donaher, C. J. Baillie, Y. S. Zhang, A. Albright, S. N. Trackenberg, E. H. Wellman, N. Woodard, and R. K. Gittman. 2021. Bivalve facilitation mediates seagrass recovery from physical disturbance in a temperate estuary. Ecosphere 12(11): e03802 (Special Feature: Honoring Charles H. Peterson, Ecologist).

S. Zhang, R. K. Gittman, S. E. Donaher, S. N. Trackenberg, T. van der Heide, and B. R. Silliman. 2021. Inclusion of intra- and interspecific facilitation expands the theoretical framework for seagrass restoration. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:296.