Connect locally with a Network of Passionate Individuals.
Microplastics are now recognised as one of the most challenging emerging contaminants, affecting ecosystems, food systems and potentially human health. This March, in recognition of International Women’s Day, the Brisbane Branch is hosting an evening with three leading women in the microplastics field: Dr Cassandra Rauert (QAEHS), Dr Julia Jaeger (Eurofins Environment Testing) and Amanda Dawson (Griffith University).
This event will explore what is currently known about microplastic sources, detection techniques, and exposure pathways, as well as what new research is revealing about human and environmental risks.
Attendees will gain insight into how microplastic science is evolving, what gaps remain, and how improved methodology is strengthening decision-making for regulators, councils and industry. The session will also cover the challenges of sampling, laboratory analysis, and the implications for environmental approvals and waste management.
With microplastics increasingly referenced in national guidelines, risk assessments and environmental monitoring programs, this session is ideal for contaminated land practitioners, water managers, regulators, councils, laboratory specialists and anyone interested in emerging contaminants.
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Your ticket includes a complimentary drink and a selection of appetisers. Please note that this is not a formal dinner event.
BYO! To minimise our use of plastic, we encourage delegates to bring their own reusable water bottles and coffee cups.
Due to the venue’s security measures, make sure you arrive on time.
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Important Note: Please pay attention to NRF’s new address (same building, different level).
Dr Julia Jaeger is a Technical Specialist at Eurofins Environment Testing, holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry and brings over a decade of experience in Analytical Chemistry. Her expertise spans a range of fields, including atmospheric chemistry, food chemistry, and forensics. Since 2019, Julia has played a key role in establishing and managing a laboratory specialising in commercial microplastic testing. She currently works as part of the technical team, focusing on technical advancements across all Eurofins Environment Testing laboratories in Australia.
Dr Cassandra Rauert is a Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), University of Queensland. She is the microplastics project lead in the Minderoo Centre-Plastics and Human Health, investigating human exposure to microplastics and developing new methods for detecting micro and nanoplastics in human matrices. Her other research interests include the impact of tyre road wear particles and their chemical additives on the environment and developing novel biomonitoring methods for assessing human exposure to chemicals of concern.
Amanda is an environmental scientist specialising in analytical chemistry and ecotoxicology, currently working as a Research Fellow in Soil Microplastics within the Soil Environmental Biogeochemistry Research Group at Griffith University. Her research contributes to the Solving Plastic Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), where the team is developing standardised protocols to detect, quantify and assess microplastics across soil, water, compost and waste streams.
She has completed her PhD in Marine Pollution and Ecotoxicology at Griffith University in 2018, where she investigated the impact of plastic pollution and persistent organic pollutants on Antarctic krill. Since graduating, she has held research positions with CSIRO, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), and Queensland Fisheries, where she worked on projects spanning marine pollution, biochemistry, and ecological risk assessment. She has conducted research on plastic pollution in seafood, developed molecular and chemical tracking tools to identify plastic sources, and designed analytical methods for robust microplastic analysis.
She is driven by a commitment to advancing our understanding of how plastic pollution interacts with ecosystems and to developing science-based tools that support sustainable environmental management and a circular plastics economy.
NRF Brisbane
NEW LEVEL 24/111 Eagle St
Brisbane QLD 4001
Member: $49.00
Non-Member: $99.00
Welcome Branch: $30.00
Student: $15.00
Up to 1.5 CPD points
