Graduates of pioneering plastics research program spark hope

NEW RESEARCH FELLOWS PReMIERS fellows pose for a photo together with Project Leader Deo Florence Onda, PReMIERS Core Adviser Paul Samuel Ignacio, partners from Holcim Philippines Inc., One Earth-One Ocean and guests from Poseidon International. PHOTO FROM MULLENLOWE TREYNA

RESEARCHERS from diverse backgrounds in engineering and biological sciences have recently graduated from the Plastics Research Methods Intensive Educational and Research Stay (PReMIERS) Fellowship Program, an environmental research collaboration on ocean plastics, a growing concern worldwide.

The PReMIERS Fellowship Program is a capacity-building program under the Circular Explorer Project, a collaboration between University of the Philippines – Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI), Marine Environment Resources Foundation Inc., Holcim, Circular Explorer and One Earth One Ocean.

During the fellowship, they were equipped with tools and skills needed to conduct plastics research under the supervision of a core of mentors from data collection in Manila Bay onboard the Circular Explorer, to microplastics extraction and analyses in Bolinao Marine Laboratory in Pangasinan, to application of artificial intelligence and data analytics in UP Baguio.

NEW RESEARCH FELLOWS PReMIERS fellows pose for a photo together with Project Leader Deo Florence Onda, PReMIERS Core Adviser Paul Samuel Ignacio, partners from Holcim Philippines Inc., One Earth-One Ocean and guests from Poseidon International. PHOTO FROM MULLENLOWE TREYNA

"A lot of research has already been done, a lot of expertise built and a number of publications have come out, but we still have a long way to go. It's a challenge to decentralize what we know to encourage more scientists to do research in the field and contribute to the further understanding of the problem. The PReMIERS program contributes to this by creating experts, one fellow at a time," said Deo Onda, associate professor at UP MSI.