Ciao a tutti,

my name is Simona and I am from Northern Italy. After my biology studies in Milan I moved to Germany for my LimnoPlast PhD. Since I arrived I was really impressed by how welcoming people are and I was struck by how nature surrounds the cities, the forests are really amazing!

In LimnoPlast my project focuses on the evaluation of the potential ecotoxicological effects induced by microplastics (MPs) derived from biodegradable plastic (BdP) on invertebrate freshwater keyspecies. To date in fact, while already different studies have been carried out to assess the toxicity of conventional MP, hardly any effort was made to analyze the one of BdP, even though these materials are currently being discussed as a possible solution to the environmental problem represented by plastic.

What I am most excited about this project is the opportunity to work in a highly international and multidisciplinary context. This will allow us ESRs to acquire a wider perspective and, hopefully, to contribute to find possible solutions to such an important environmental issue.

As we already form a great team, I hope that we will accomplish great results together!

Auf Wiedersehen und bleibt gesund,
Simona