Microplastic and nanoplastic is one of the planetary pollution problems that affects practically all habitats and species, including
Homo sapiens. This PhD candidate's chief responsibility is to develop and apply methods to detect and quantify plastic particles for human risk assessment. The PhD project takes place within the framework of the EU H2020 POLYRISK project with consortium partners from top (immuno)toxicology, public and environmental health, and analytical chemistry research groups across Europe. The PhD candidate has the opportunity to join a team of young and enthusiastic researchers working on various aspects of plastic particle pollution in the vibrant environment of the VU's
O|2 Lab Building, also home to POLYRISK partner AUMC-VUmc location MCBI group.
Your dutiesDevelop and validate analytical methodologies to detect, identify, and quantify plastic particles in human biological matrices (inter alia) to use in generating an analytical dataset that gives insights into plastic particle exposure and enables human risk assessment.• investigate plastic particle distribution in human matrices
• ensure QA/QC of data produced
• gather data on potential exposure routes of microplastics for humans
• inter/transdisciplinary collaborations with other PhD students in the consortium
• supervise research traineeships and literature theses of master students within the scope of the POLYRISK project
• provide regular progress updates at POLYRISK project meetings and group meetings
• disseminate results in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences
• write and defend a PhD thesis at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam