Dr. Laurens Mandemaker is an assistant professor at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视, both in the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS - Department Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) and the Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry (ISCC - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science). His current research mainly focuses on (micro- and) nanoplastics. More specifically, he uses his background in analytical chemistry, specifically micro-spectroscopy and scanning probe force microscopy, to identify, characterize and quantify emerging pollutants in matrices varying from blood, to water, soil, food, etc. Additionally, he is working on designing and synthesizing reference materials, e.g. nanoplastics of specific sizes, polymer types or containing convenient labels, to aid in toxicological assays. Both of these efforts contribute towards obtaining a proper risk assessment on (micro- and) nanoplastics.
Laurens obtained his BSc (Chemistry) and MSc (Nanomaterials) degree at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视, and defended his dissertation 鈥�The Birth, Life and Death of Surface-Mounted Metal-Organic Frameworks鈥� in June 2021, completing his PhD under the supervision of prof. dr. ir. Bert M. Weckhuysen. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher on micro- and nanoplastics in the Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry for four years, before becoming assistant professor in both the Toxicology (IRAS) and Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis (ISCC) groups, working in collaborative projects such as MOMENTUM, AURORA and FHERITALE.