Laura started as a PhD researcher at the Environmental Biology Department of CML in July 2021.

More information about Laura Julia Zantis

Professional experience

Laura graduated with an MSci (Integrated Master) in Marine & Freshwater Biology from the University of Glasgow (Scotland) in June 2021. During a one-year work placement at the University of Auckland (New Zealand), as part of her master, she has led a research project investigating the microplastic exposure of baleen whales near a cosmopolitan city, Auckland. For her final master thesis, Laura built and used a state-space model to determine the population dynamics of an endangered grouse species, the Western Capercaillie, in Scotland.

Research topic

The PhD topic of Laura is “Impacts of microplastic on plant performance”. This research is aimed to investigate the effects of microplastics on terrestrial plants, mainly on crop plants used in agriculture. The goal is to identify significant endpoints showing these effects during different plant life stages in laboratory experiments, and then to apply these to mesocosm and field experiments.

Publications