Alaska Pacific University (APU) has received a five-year, $5 million grant from NASA to establish a new Microplastics Research and Education Center. The center, headquartered on APU’s campus, will lead a multi-institutional effort to study the growing threat of microplastics.
The grant’s first year has focused on equipping APU’s Alaska and Arctic Waterways Analytics (AAWA) Lab to meet national standards. Once accredited, the lab will be one of the only facilities in Alaska capable of testing water for microplastics and PFAS.
Led by APU chemistry professor Dr. Dee Barker, the research team will investigate how microplastics travel through water systems, from the equator to the Arctic, and their impact on ecosystems and human health. This project will use a “One Health” approach, combining Western science with Alaska Native Traditional Ways of Knowledge.
The center will also have a strong educational component, offering internships and research opportunities for APU students. It will engage with K-12 students and local communities to raise awareness and teach data collection skills. The funding aims to train a new generation of scientists to address critical environmental challenges in Alaska and beyond.
The first year of the grant was spent building up the instrumental and analytical capabilities of APU’s AWWA Lab to match those of California’s microplastics-accredited labs. Dr. Barker adopted the CSWRCB’s protocols—the only standardized method in the U.S.—for identifying and analyzing microplastics. APU now houses the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) IS50 with IR microscope (RaptIR), an advanced imaging system capable of detecting plastic particles as small as 5 microns. Dr. Barker has also had ThermoFisher Scientific, the company that sells the necessary research equipment, visit APU’s campus to scout the feasibility of housing the PFAS instrumentation, with a possible location on campus determined.
KEY QUOTE:
“We’re now able to create high-resolution images that not only confirm whether a particle is plastic, but also map exactly where it appears on a sample. That level of precision is vital, especially when you consider the serious health concerns associated with microplastics, such as cardiovascular disease, preterm birth, and cancer.”
Dr. Barker
