Measuring Micro and Nanoplastics in Environmental Samples Workshop

About This Grant

ABSTRACT The Measuring Micro- and Nanoplastics in Environmental Samples Workshop (“the Workshop”) will be held as part of a Great Lakes Microplastic and Health Symposium (June 17-18, 2026) in Rochester, New York. This Workshop aims to pool existing expertise, establish new collaborations, and prioritize future needs for characterizing micro- and nanoplastics (MNP) in complex environmental matrices relevant to health research in the Great Lakes ecosystem. This Workshop will bring together national experts on MNP analysis with researchers studying the interactions between Great Lakes ecosystems (particularly water and air) and health. The Workshop will be hosted by two multidisciplinary centers that are part of the NIH/NSF Centers for Oceans and Human Health program. The University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology co-host the Lake Ontario MicroPlastics (LOMP) Center, a transdisciplinary hub for research, translation and engagement on how MNPs affect human health and the Great Lakes environment (particularly water and near shore air). The Great Lakes Center for Fresh Water and Human Health is based at the University of Michigan (the Great Lakes Center). Its central goal is to better understand the increasing risks that cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHAB) pose to freshwater ecosystems and human health. One aspect of the Great Lakes Center’s research is to explore the association of aerosolized microplastics and cHABs. Fostering collaboration and scientific exchange between the Great Lakes Center, LOMP, and national experts studying MNPs is one example of how this workshop may have long-term impacts on regional MNP research collaborations that may yield results of global significance. The Workshop has three objectives: 1) Bring together scientists from multiple laboratories and institutions to present new findings, identify methodological challenges, and share analytical approaches to better understand environmental exposures to MNPs and their potential impact on human and environmental health; 2) Develop new collaborations between researchers and trainees across institutions, both regionally and nationally; and 3) Identify priorities and opportunities for analytical advances to support this rapidly growing field. The objectives will be met through a Workshop format with a limited number of participants (30-40) to encourage close interaction. The requested R13 conference funds will be used to pay for expenses for the June 17 Workshop, including travel expenses for trainees, invited experts, and researchers from other institutions. R-13 support will also enable these attendees to participate in the full Great Lakes Microplastic and Health Symposium, to be held on June 18 at the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery, that will include a larger number of researchers, trainees, and community partners (120-150) on a broad range of topics related to Microplastics and Health with a focus on the Great Lakes region.