Cassandra Rauert

Cassandra Rauert is a Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) within the University of Queensland's Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. She specializes in analytical chemistry and environmental health, focusing on human exposure to microplastics, nanoplastics, and chemical additives from tyre road wear particles, with a strong emphasis on atmospheric chemistry and biomonitoring methods.

• Education:
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), University of Sydney
  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Birmingham

Her research investigates the environmental occurrence of microplastics, their transport through ecosystems, and their impact on human health. She leads projects on quantifying plastics in human matrices (e.g., blood, breast milk) and developing non-invasive biomonitoring tools like silicone wristbands. Her work also encompasses tyre wear particles, their chemical leachates, and the design of plastic-minimized laboratories to reduce contamination risks.

Recent publications highlight her contributions to microplastic quantification in food, beverages, and environmental samples, alongside challenges in analytical methods. She supervises multiple PhD students in environmental health and has secured grants from the ARC and NHMRC for projects like the INQUIRE initiative on healthier homes in Europe. Collaborations with the Minderoo Foundation and international institutions underscore her global impact in addressing plastic pollution.