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Areas of Expertise
Plastics Analytical Methods
Microplastics & Disease
Tire Wear Analysis
Our research seeks to understand how natural environments are shaped by contaminants, with the ultimate goal of measuring environmental impact and advising smart management decisions.
Our research seeks to understand how natural environments are shaped by contaminants, with the ultimate goal of measuring environmental impact and advising smart management decisions.
Our lab perspective on environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology, from source to impact.
ONGOING RESEARCH AREAS
Plastics Analytical Methods
Plastics are far from simple. There are a variety of polymer types, which construct the 'backbone' of plastics. There are also more than 15,000 plastic associated chemicals ('chemical additives'), such as dyes or flame retardants, which increase product functionality. Microplastics in the environment have also been altered by physical abrasion, UV weathering, biodegradation and more. Our lab works with a variety of methodologies to advance how we quantify and characterize plastics in the environment. By widening our analytical window, we can better understand their impact and management measures.
Read more:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04671-1
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/50951/1/978-3-030-78627-4.pdf
Microplastics and Disease
It has been shown that microplastics pose a variety of lethal and sub-lethal impacts to aquatic systems, but how do these relate to survival in the face of deadly pathogens? Or microbial systems? Our research examines this interface, to understand how plastics with different shapes, sizes and chemistries may exacerbate or minimize the impact of diseases to aquatic animals. In aquatic systems, we also evaluate how plastics shape microbes and biogeochemical cycling. This is important for the health of aquatic systems, but also informative toward human health.
Read more:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161191
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16235-3
Tire Wear Analysis
As we drive our cars, the friction of the road slowly abrades our tires releasing tiny fragments of tire rubber. This rubber is complex in chemical composition, making it uniquely toxic and difficult to analyze. Our lab specializes in the mass analysis of tire wear in the environment with Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Specrometry. Current projects will evaluate the distibution, chemical complexity and impacts of tire wear in our local environments.
Read more:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04671-1
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.120908
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