URIs_MOMENTUM_Research_and_Innovation_Magazine_Spring_2022_M

From left to right, Assistant Professor Jaime Ross, Research Assistant Professor Giuseppe Coppotelli, undergraduate student Danielle Burge, undergraduate student Joceline Rodrigues Monteiro, Lab Technician Bethany Healey, undergraduate student Kristen Harder, Ph.D. student Lauren Gaspar, Ph.D. student Sydney Bartman, and Ph.D. student Hannah Tobias-Wallingford.

Her work could be an important pathway to simultaneously advance research on human health and microplastics and leverage the collaborative power of URI’s Plastics: Land to Sea COLAB (co-laboratories) initiative. Launched in spring of 2021, URI’s Plastics COLAB brings together researchers and resources across URI departments and disciplines to understand and address plastics pollution. Ross’ research focuses on the role of genetics, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation in understanding age-related diseases, particularly those that impact the brain such as Alzheimer’s. However, Ross, alongside Research Assistant Professor Giuseppe Coppotelli, biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, and Ph.D. candidate Lauren Gaspar, decided to investigate potential impacts of microplastics exposure after considering questions about environmental influences on brain health from colleagues in her field. Through a $25,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation, awarded in March 2021,

Research Assistant Professor Giuseppe Coppotelli

Ph.D. student Sydney Bartman

Page 46 | The University of Rhode Island { MOMENTUM: RESEARCH & INNOVATION }