Research shows humans consume hundreds of plastic particles each day – up to a credit card’s worth every week. How do these particles get into our ecosystems and our bodies?
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the Rochester Institute of Technology are studying this question. They recently received a $7.3 million dollar grant to establish the Lake Ontario Center for Microplastics and Human Health. The center’s work will focus on how plastic waste enters the Great Lakes and how it affects the health of humans, wildlife, and the environment.
Our guests this hour discuss their research and what it means for the community.
In studio:
- Katrina Smith Korfmacher, Ph.D., professor of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center
- Christy Tyler, Ph.D., professor in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology
- Matt Hoffman, Ph.D., professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology
- Sami Romanick, Ph.D., postdoctoral research fellow in biomedical engineering at the University of Rochester Medical Center
*Note: For information about Sami Romanick's lecture at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, click here.
