What’s in our water? A participatory science toolkit and behavioral intervention to reduce health risks of chronic microplastic exposure

Samantha McBride, PhD, is a recipient of a pilot award from PRCCEH to create a participatory science toolkit for microplastics analysis and behavioral intervention to reduce health risks of chronic microplastic exposure in students. Dr. McBride and her research team aim to distribute microplastics detection kits and perform outreach activities educating older children on microplastics science at local middle and high school programs with the goal of reducing chronic consumption of water from single use plastic bottles. In this seminar she and Derek Ho, PhD, will present their work and discuss their outreach activities.

Following registration below, a Zoom link will be emailed for the webinar.

Samantha McBride is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania, with a secondary appointment in Chemical and Biological Engineering. She is the principal investigator of the McBride Lab at the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Her research leverages the latest advancements in interfacial science, fluid physics, and soft matter physics for water and sustainability. Applications include resource recovery from wastewater, remediation of microplastics and other emerging pollutants, anti-fouling surface coatings, and new technologies for sustainable water treatment and desalination. She is passionate about science communications and K-12 STEM outreach, and has served as a judge for the U.S. Nationals Stockholm Junior Water Prize since 2018.

Derek Ho is a postdoctoral fellow with a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Biological Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he also completed dual Ph.D. minors in Soil Science and Life Science Communication. He currently serves as a Visiting Research Professor at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in the Department of Biogeochemistry, where his research focuses on the occurrence, transformation, and detection of microplastics across diverse environmental matrices. Derek is deeply passionate about water security and is dedicated to developing technologies for identifying and remediating microplastics in the environment.

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