Microplastics in Megafauna (and how I got here) - Invited guest lecture
Marine Education, Research, and Recovery for Oceans Worldwide (MERROW) Foundation AQUAneers: August 20, 2026.
Ecotoxicology in the Marine Environment (ENHS 761) at the University of South Carolina: March 31, 2025; March 30, 2026.
Research Methods (ENHS 794) at the University of South Carolina: November 5, 2025.
Marine Tetrapod Biology (BIOL 527) at the College of Charleston: March 28, 2024; March 24, 2026.
Ecotoxicology (BIOL 421) at The Citadel: September 24, 2024; September 30, 2025; September 29, 2026.
Toxicology Class at Appalachian State University: April 25 2025.
Marine Mammalogy Class at The Citadel: March 31, 2025.
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley: February 14, 2025.
University of Georgia: May 25, 2023.
Outreach and Training Courses
SC Department of Natural Resources Open House | tabling with NOAA NCCOS. January 30, 2026.
ReConnect Symposium | hosted by the SC Sea Grant Consortium and SC Aquarium. July 12, 2022 and November 3, 2025.
Microplastics Methods Short Course | Microplastics in the Coastal Region Conference. April 9, 2024.
Microplastics Short Course | Carolinas SETAC 30th Virtual Annual Meeting. May 17, 2021.
Platform and Poster Presentations at Meetings, Conferences, etc.
Marine Mammal Ingestion of Microplastics |NOAA Marine Debris Collaboration Meeting. Virtual lightning presentation. July 28, 2026.
Investigating Spatial, Temporal, and Demographic Variation of Microplastic Exposure in Marine Mammals | The 14th SETAC Young Environmental Scientists Meeting. Columbia, SC, USA. Platform presentation. August 4-7, 2026.
Microplastics Research: From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the Stomachs of Stranded Marine Mammals | Puget Sound Microplastics Strategy Microplastics Workshop #3. Virtual Oral Presentation. May 5, 2026.
Microplastics in Marine Mammals: Investigating Spatial, Temporal, and Demographic Variation in Microplastic Exposure | The Carolinas SETAC 35th Annual Meeting. Raleigh, NC, USA. Platform Presentation. April 13-14, 2026.
Population-level Assessment of Microplastics in Stranded Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) from the Charleston Harbor | The Carolinas SETAC 35th Annual Meeting. Raleigh, NC, USA. Poster Presentation. April 13-14, 2026.
My Journey in Microplastics Research: From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to Marine Mammal Guts | University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy Microplastics Awareness Week. Virtual Oral Presentation. March 25, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBDGFUsRaY8
Exposure Pathways of Microplastics in a Local Population of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) | The SETAC North America 46th Annual Meeting. Portland, OR, USA. Platform presentation. November 16-20, 2025.
Assessment of Microplastic Exposure and Transfer Pathways in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) | The Carolinas SETAC 34th Annual Meeting. Charleston, SC, USA. Platform Presentation. April 17-19, 2025.
Microplastics in Marine Mammals: A One-Health Perspective to Inform Human Health and Environmental Risk Assessment | The SETAC North America 45th Annual Meeting. Fort Worth, TX, USA. Platform presentation. October 20-24, 2024.
Microplastics in Megafauna | Hollings Marine Laboratory Science Day. October 3, 2024.
Marine Mammal Health and Monitoring: A One Health Approach to Understanding Anthropogenic Effects in the Coastal Environment | The Public Health and Integrated Toxicology Division of the US EPA Emerging Topics Lecture. Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. Invited talk. July 18, 2024.
Microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of stranded Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) from South Carolina | The Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic Marine Mammal Symposium (SEAMAMMS). Beaufort, NC, USA. Lighting Talk. April 26-28, 2024.
Monitoring microplastics in a local population of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) | The Carolinas SETAC 33rd Annual Meeting. Boone, NC, USA. Platform presentation. April 14-16, 2024.
Microplastics in Marine Mammals: A One Health approach to understanding the fate, pathways, and impacts of microplastics in the coastal region | Microplastics in the Coastal Region Conference. Charleston, SC, USA. Platform presentation. April 8-9, 2024.
Marine Mammal Health in the Southeast and Caribbean | NOAA One Health Pre-Summit Webinar Series. Virtual oral presentation. July 17, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opysb9lYsQQ&authuser=3
Microplastics in a Local Population of Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): A One Health Approach to Coastal Monitoring | The SETAC Europe 33rd Annual Meeting. Dublin, Ireland. Poster presentation. April 30 – May 4, 2023.
Microplastics in Megafauna: Monitoring coastal plastic pollution using locally-stranded bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) | The Carolinas SETAC 32nd Annual Meeting. Charleston, SC, USA. Platform presentation. April 19-21, 2023.
Monitoring Microplastics in a Local Population of Estuarine Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) | The Southeastern Estuarine Research Society (SEERS) Annual Meeting. Charleston, SC, USA. Platform presentation. March 16-18, 2023.
Long-term Monitoring of Microplastics in Coastal Dolphins | University of South Carolina Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition. November 23, 2022.
Bioaccumulation of Microplastic Particles in the Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginica: One Health Connections | The SETAC North America 43rd Annual Meeting. Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Poster presentation. November 13-17, 2022.
Charleston street flooding is more than just a nuisance: A pathway for microplastic particles into our coastal waterways | South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium Research Symposium. The Citadel, Charleston, SC, USA. Poster presentation. May 11-12, 2022.
Uptake and Depuration of Microplastics and Tire Particles in the Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica: A Toxicokinetic Approach | The Carolinas SETAC 31st Annual Meeting. BASF, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. Platform presentation. April 7-9, 2022.
Charleston’s sunny-day flooding: A pathway for street-derived microplastic and tire wear particles into coastal waterways | The Citadel Academy of Science and Mathematics Banquet. Trident Technical College, Charleston, SC, USA. Poster presentation. March 24, 2022.
Plastic PPE Litter on Beaches: Estimating Abundance Through Citizen Science and Standardized Sampling Techniques | Ocean Sciences Meeting. Virtual oral presentation. February 24 – March 4, 2022.
Rising Seas and Roadway Debris: Environmental Fate of Tire-Wear Microplastic Following Nuisance Flooding in Coastal South Carolina | The SETAC North America 42nd Annual Meeting, SETAC SciCon4. Virtual oral presentation. November 14-18, 2021.
Investigating Impacts of the Pandemic on Plastic Pollution Using Citizen Science Databases | The SETAC North America 42nd Annual Meeting, SETAC SciCon4. Virtual oral presentation. November 14-18, 2021.
Uptake and Elimination of Microplastics and Tire Wear Particles in the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica): Implications for Lowering Exposures to Human Consumers | The SETAC North America 42nd Annual Meeting, SETAC SciCon4. Virtual poster presentation. November 14-18, 2021.
Human Dietary Exposure to Microplastics from Oysters (Crassostrea virginica): Lowering Exposure through Depuration | Joint Oceans and Human Health annual meeting, hosted by the Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health. Virtual poster presentation. October 4-6, 2021.
Marine Plastic Litter and the Pandemic: Trends in PPE Prevalence and Volunteer Clean-up Efforts | Northeast Regional Idea Conference, hosted by Rhode Island INBRE. Virtual oral presentation. August 18, 2021.
Prevalence of PPE in plastic litter before and during the pandemic | Carolinas SETAC 30th Annual Meeting. Virtual oral presentation. May 17-18, 2021.
Plastic Pollution Conversation Café | Medical University of South Carolina Sustainability. Virtual oral presentation and speaker panel. May 11, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFVi_1G7bAc
Environmental fate of microplastic and tire wear particles from coastal floodwater in Charleston, SC | Carolina’s Climate Resilience Conference. Virtual poster presentation. May 10-12, 2021.
Climatological Research Studies Grant: Nuisance Flooding and Microplastics | James B. Near Center for Climatological Studies Advisory Board Meeting. April 17, 2021.
Recent trends in plastic litter from within the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic | Global Council for Science and the Environment French-American Plastic Pollution Cohort Meeting. Virtual oral presentation. April 12, 2021.
Plastic Pollution, PPE, and the Pandemic | The Citadel’s Student Excellence Day. The Citadel, Charleston, SC, USA. Poster presentation. April 9, 2021.
Our Plastic Pollution Problem | Rotary Club of Hendersonville. Invited virtual lecture. March 16, 2021.
Assessing nuisance floodwater in Charleston, SC as a potential pathway for street-derived microplastic and tire wear particles in coastal waterways | NSF-NIH Oceans and Human Health annual meeting, hosted by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Virtual poster presentation. October 28, 2020.
Encroaching Tides and Extreme Rainfall: Floodwater as a Source of Microplastic and Tire Wear Particles to Coastal Waterways | The SETAC North America 41st Annual Meeting, SETAC SciCon2. Virtual oral presentation. November 15-19, 2020.
Nuisance floodwaters as a potential pathway for microplastic and tire wear particle transport into the waterways of Charleston, SC | Carolinas SETAC 29th Annual Meeting. Virtual oral presentation. May 22, 2020.
Climate-change associated floodwater as a pathway for microplastic and tire wear particle transport to coastal waterways: A case study of Charleston, SC (USA) | The SETAC Europe 30th annual meeting, SETAC SciCon. Virtual poster presentation. May 3-7, 2020.
A spatiotemporal assessment of surface-water microplastics in a coastal bay system: Blue Hill, Maine | Microplastic Analysis Workshop, QUASIMEME. Amsterdam, Netherlands. Poster presentation. November 27-18, 2018.
Marine debris in salt marshes and microplastic ingestion by Uca pugilator | University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Undergraduate Honors Thesis Defense. UNC Institute of Marine Science, Morehead City, NC, USA. March 23, 2018.
Marine debris in salt marshes and microplastic ingestion by Uca pugilator | Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS) Annual Meeting. Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA. April 4-6, 2018.