Demystifying PFAS, from fundamentals to first steps in the lab A webinar series for mass spec scientists and a practical training resource for lab managers building confident food testing teams
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are everywhere, from drinking water to food packaging, and understanding how to detect and analyze them is more critical than ever. Whether you're just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, our new four-part webinar series breaks down the essentials of PFAS analysis with expert-led sessions, practical tools, and real-world insights.
Designed with lab analysts and managers in mind, this series also serves as a structured training resource to onboard new analysts, deliver refresher learning, and build consistent competency across the team.
Agenda
Now streaming
Reducing sporadic PFAS contamination: Sample prep and chromatography strategies
Speaker: Maryam Sayeed, Product Manager, Phenomenex
Learn how to simplify your sample prep and avoid background contamination, one of the most common pitfalls in PFAS analysis. This session delivers actionable tips to ensure clean, reliable results.
What you’ll learn: ·
- Master practical strategies to simplify PFAS sample preparation
- How to identify and eliminate hidden sources of background contamination
- Apply actionable tips that safeguard data quality and prevent false positives
PFAS 101: What, why, and where?
Speaker: Megumi Shimizu, LC-MS Application Scientist, SCIEX
Start your journey with a foundational overview of PFAS chemistry, their lifecycle, exposure pathways, and evolving global regulations. This session sets the stage for the rest of the series.
What you’ll learn: ·
- Gain a strong scientific foundation in PFAS chemistry
- Explore the PFAS lifecycle and human/environmental exposure routes
- Navigate the fast-evolving global regulatory landscape with confidence
Submit your question for our roundtable discussion
During episode 4 of the series, our experts will answer your questions. No question is too small. No jargon required. Just insight, clarity, and expertise.
Coming soon
April 8, 2026 | Getting started with LC-MS/MS for PFAS
Speaker: Simon Roberts, Staff Applications Scientist, SCIEX
Explore method setup essentials like polarity switching, reversed-phase methods, and internal standards. Discover how to achieve ultra-low detection limits (0.2 ng/L in water, 0.001 µg/kg in food) and hands-on learning.
What you’ll learn:
- Build a PFAS ready LCMS/MS method from the ground up
- Understand the practical steps required to reach ultra-low detection limits
- Build hands-on confidence with virtual training
April 22, 2026 | PFAS first steps: A roundtable for new analysts
Host: Craig Butt, Senior Technical Manager, Food and Environmental
Panelists: Megumi Shimizu, Maryam Sayeed, Simon Roberts
Join our expert panel as they tackle common challenges faced by new analysts. From troubleshooting poor linearity to ensuring regulatory readiness, this roundtable is packed with practical advice and peer insights.
What you’ll learn:
- Learn how experienced PFAS specialists troubleshoot the issues new analysts often face
- Gain practical, real lab strategies to build confidence in your workflows
- Understand what regulatory readiness looks like for early career analysts
Megumi Shimizu
LC-MS Application Scientist, SCIEX
Megumi Shimizu is a Senior Application Scientist on SCIEX’s Environmental Application Team, providing technical guidance, troubleshooting, and customized workflow development for LC‑MS. She holds a PhD in Marine Science from Duke University and has 8 years of experience focused on PFAS analysis and environmental contaminants. Megumi supports customers across nominal and high-resolution platforms, helping them develop sensitive, robust methods for PFAS detection, quantification, and characterization in complex environmental matrices.
Maryam Sayeed
Product Manager, Phenomenex
Maryam Sayeed is a Product Manager at Phenomenex and has been with the company for three years. She focuses on expanding solutions for chromatography products and consumables designed for the food and environmental markets. Her work also includes supporting products that address challenges associated with PFAS analysis and background contamination at low detection limits. Prior to joining Phenomenex, Maryam spent nine years in the food and beverage industry, gaining extensive hands‑on experience with HPLC analysis. She holds an MS in Biology with a specialization in Biochemistry.
Simon Roberts
Staff Applications Scientist, SCIEX
As a postdoctoral fellow at the Colorado School of Mines, Simon worked with Dr. Christopher Higgins and Dr. Jennifer Field to identify novel classes of PFAS chemicals in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs). At SCIEX, Simon specializes in method optimization and data reporting as he helps labs around the country set up PFAS and other environmental analytical methods.
Simon has spent nearly 15 years researching the distribution of PFAS in the environment. He has used his expertise to set up, optimize, and troubleshoot PFAS analysis at many major commercial, government, and academic environmental labs across North America. Simon lives in Denver and enjoys getting lost in the mountains and playing music
Craig Butt
Senior Manager, Food and Environmental
Craig M. Butt is Senior Manager of the Applied Markets group in the Global Technical Marketing division of SCIEX with over 20 years of mass spectrometry experience. Previously at SCIEX he was an applications scientist where he developed methods for targeted and non-targeted methods in the cannabis, environmental, food and beverage group. He obtained his Ph.D. in environmental chemistry at the University of Toronto, his thesis research investigated the fate of poly- and perfluorinated organic compounds (PFAS) in biological systems. He was a NSERC post-doctoral research fellow in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, later becoming a research scientist in the department.