Winnie is an marine biologist and plastic pollution expert whose mission-driven research centres on understanding the ecological impacts of anthropogenic stressors. Her research focuses on assessing the environmental prevalence, fate and impacts of (micro)plastics on organisms and ecosystem functions, to assess environmental risk and support effective interventions.

Winnie is part of the Plastic Research Centre of Wales

Media expertise: microplastics, plastic pollution, marine pollution, pollution response, Plastic Treaty and policy.

Media Enquiries: Experience with live and pre-recorded TV, radio, social formats. Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] for interview or expert insights. 

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Since completing her PhD (SAMS, 2019), where she researched the current and historic presence of microplastic pollution in the deep sea ecosystem; Winnie spent 5 years working within the International Marine Litter Research Unit, at the University of Plymouth. Her research (NERC-funded “Bio-Plastic-Risk” project) focussed on the environmental degradation and impacts of biodegradable and bio-based plastics (often termed as ‘bioplastics’ or ‘alternative plastics’).

Her research has led her to study plastic pollution in a variety of terrestrial and marine environments, from agricultural soils and coastline to some of the most remote parts of our planet including the deep sea and oceanic gyres.

She has extensive experience conducting research at sea and in remote locations (e.g. Belize, Tanzania, and she has sailed the North Atlantic and South Pacific Ocean). As 'eXXpedition Round the World science lead' she led research examining the global land-sea flows and movement of plastic pollution and worked with >240 women citizen scientists from 40 nationalities. 

Winnie is a passionate science communicator and authority on (micro)plastic pollution; she has spoken at the UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Canada, and the British and European Parliaments.

She is an active member of the Scientist Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, (co-leading working groups on 'Microplastics; Plastic Chemicals and Products; Alternative Plastics (biodegradable plastics); Plastic monitoring) which supports progress towards the development of a legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution. She has attended the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee sessions.

I teach on the following modules:

• OSX-1000 Science Skills
• OSX1007 Marine Biogeochemistry
• OSX-2000 Science Communication
• OSX-2007  Ship-based fieldwork
• OSX-2004 Estuary and shelf sea processes
• OSX-3005 Marine Pollution
• OSX-3000 BSc Dissertations
• OSX-4004 Environmental Impact Assessment

• I supervise BSc, MSc, MSci and MRes project students

The Plastic Research Centre of Wales