Merhaba,

My name is Öykü. I was born and raised in Istanbul and am currently living in Amsterdam for my PhD studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and my Master’s degree in Environmental Technology at Bogaziçi University.

My PhD centers around determining the concentrations of microplastics in various environmental matrices with a focus on freshwater systems. This will allow us to gain insights into the potential routes that humans get exposed to microplastics through drinking water and fish consumption. In addition, I will study microplastic distribution in the canal network of Amsterdam and model the fate and transport in the riverine system. The major challenge of my research is to develop analytical strategies for the sampling, isolation and trace analysis of microplastics in all of these different environments.

I am very excited to have joined the LimnoPlast project which provides a well-structured PhD with an extensive training program and secondment in another institution, and I enjoy collaborating with an international team. I especially love being part of our ESR team! Even though we are in different locations and working on different subjects, we support and learn a lot from each other.

Although moving to another country during Covid has been difficult, I love my new home country and working environment. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city, I love biking around and explore new places. I enjoy the nature and of course the cheese a lot. An unexpected difficulty I have here is having to jump to see myself in the mirrors most of the time, since everything is designed for tall people here!

I am glad to be a part of the LimnoPlast project and to work on diverse aspects of the microplastic issue with such a great team!

Groetjes en blijf gezond!

Öykü