Conference: Great Lakes Microplastics Research Symposium: Integrating Environment and Health

This award supports participation in a symposium focused on microplastics in aquatic environments. Concerns about global microplastic contamination and the potential human and ecological health risks have grown in recent years. The symposium will bring together researchers from multiple disciplines to share findings and identify priorities for understanding microplastic contamination in freshwater systems, with particular attention to environmental samples from the Great Lakes. These efforts will advance understanding of emerging environmental contaminants affecting aquatic ecosystems and water resources while supporting the participation and training of students and early-career researchers.

The Great Lakes Microplastics Research Symposium: Integrating Environment and Health is being organized by the University of Rochester in partnership with the Lake Ontario MicroPlastics Center (University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology) and the Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health both of which are supported through the Centers for Oceans and Human Health program, a partnership between NSF and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The primary focus of the symposium is on fresh surface water, but sessions will also address microplastics in other media (such as nearshore air, wastewater, soil, plant material, fish and other aquatic organisms) relevant to the Great Lakes region. This interdisciplinary event will bring together experts and trainees in microplastics toxicology, analytical chemistry, aquatic ecology, and environmental science, as well as private sector, government, and community partners, to discuss emerging findings and prioritize needs for future work. Key outcomes will include 1) broad sharing of findings from multiple labs on approaches to all aspects of microplastic and nanoplastic analysis, 2) development of new collaborative efforts, and 3) collaboration and career pathways for students and postdoctoral researchers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Award Number: 2616082
Principal Investigator: Katrina Korfmacher
Funds Obligated: $25,100
State: NY