Trans-NIH Workshop on Micro[nano]plastic Measurement for Population Studies (Speaker Bios)

Dr. Matthew Campen is a Distinguished Professor and toxicologst at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy. He earned a BS in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech, a PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and completed postdoctoral training in pulmonary physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Campen’s research examines how complex mixtures of inhaled particles enter the body and trigger biological changes that influence respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological health. By combining laboratory studies with insights from clinical and community research, his work helps explain how everyday environmental exposures can contribute to chronic diseases. His recent studies have shed light on molecular pathways linking air pollution and microplastics exposures to brain and vascular health, providing a foundation for understanding the potential health risks of these emerging pollutants.

Dr. Clark is a practicing vascular surgeon-scientist studying microplastics in human cardiovascular disease. As an early stage investigator supported by his institution's K12 program, his work focuses on delineating the micronanoplastics content of human vascular lesions including atherosclerotic plaques from throughout the vascular tree as well as aortic aneurysms and other degenerative diseases of blood vessels. Through transcriptomics and precision chromatographic polymer analysis, these investigations shape our understanding of how plastics may affect blood vessel biology. His preclinical studies aim to uncover the mechanisms involved in nanoplastic-atherosclerosis interactions including in the endothelial cell, vascular smooth muscle cell and and macrophage compartments. Dr. Clark's clinical focus includes repair of complex aortic pathologies including aortic aneurysm and dissection as well as thoracic outlet syndrome and limb salvage in the setting of peripheral artery disease.

Dr. Hosein Foroutan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. His work focuses on the emissions, transport, transformation, measurement, and fate of airborne micro- and nanoplastics, with the broader goal of understanding how these particles enter and move through the air we breathe and contribute to human exposure. His research program bridges environmental engineering, atmospheric science, aerosol science, and exposure assessment by integrating field measurements, laboratory experimentation, and computational modeling to characterize airborne micro- and nanoplastic sources, sampling and measurement challenges, and exposure-relevant concentrations across environmental settings. Dr. Foroutan completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development and holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State. He is a recipient of an NSF CAREER Award and a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award.

Daniel Frank is a Program Officer in the Clinical Therapeutics and Epidemiology Branch at the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Illinois, and completed his postdoc at University of California, San Francisco before joining the National Institutes of Health in 2015. He focuses on transfusion medicine, with particular interest in clinical and translational research.

In his current role, Daniel manages a number of grants and contracts focusing on blood diseases and transfusion practices, including the Recipient Epidemiology Donor Study (REDS) program, as well as domestic and international clinical trials. He has an interest in blood products, including how to utilize these scarce resources safely, effectively, and efficiently, as well as the impact of transfusion mediated exposure to additive solutions and manufacturing components of storage containers on recipient health.

Dr. Le Marchand is a Professor in the Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology Section) at the University of Hawai'i Cancer Center (UHCC). His research has focused on lifestyle, nutrition and genetic risk factors for lung, breast and colorectal cancer. He has a wealth of experience building and leveraging patient cohorts to advance high-impact team science. He is the founder of the Hawai'i Colorectal Cancer Family Registry which is following individuals at high familial risk for large bowel cancer in Hawai’i. He has conducted multiple case-control studies and dietary intervention trials and was instrumental in establishing the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study’s Biorepository. Since 2012, he has been leading the MEC Study – a collaboration with the University of Southern California – which has followed 215,000 residents of Hawaii and Los Angeles of five ethnic groups (White, Japanese American, Native Hawaiian, African American and Latino) in an effort to understand population differences in cancer. He has also led several multi-institutional, NCI-supported grants, including a Program Project Grant, several large U01 grants and a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) P20 on cancer disparities. His most recent research endeavor has been to work with laboratory scientists to develop scalable assays measuring nano- and micro- plastics in biological samples to assess their health effects.

Among Dr. Le Marchand’s honors and awards are multiple appearances on the Thomson Reuters lists of “Highly Cited Researchers” and Scholar GPS list of “Highly Ranked Scholars”. He was the recipient of the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Distinguished Lectureship Award on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities and the 2025 AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. He has also served on a number of National Institutes of Health and AACR expert panels.

Yusong Li is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Dean for Faculty in the College of Engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her research focuses on the fate, transport, and human exposure implications of environmental contaminants, with particular emphasis on micro- and nanoplastics in water systems and food-contact materials. Her group investigates micro- and nanoplastic release from consumer plastic products under realistic use conditions and develops quantitative exposure estimates to support risk assessment and public health guidance. She has also made foundational contributions to understanding nanoparticle and colloid interactions with environmental surfaces through nanoscale visualization approaches. Dr. Li is a Fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) program, a Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program Fellow, and co-Editor of Vadose Zone Journal.

Sanjay K. Mohanty, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research broadly examines how weather and climate extremes, such as wildfires, drought, and flooding, affect the transport of emerging pollutants, including PFAS and microplastics, in the environment. His research team utilizes these concepts to develop climate-resilient green infrastructures to increase water availability and protect human health. Over the past decade, Dr. Mohanty has led studies that have advanced understanding of microplastic movement through air, soils, stormwater infrastructure, agricultural lands, and urban environments, and investigated the role of microplastics as carriers of co-contaminants that may increase risks to ecosystems and human health. Dr. Mohanty’s laboratory has also developed innovative methods for microplastic monitoring, including smartphone-enabled rapid quantification technologies, and has contributed to understanding emerging exposure pathways through food, dust, consumer products, and the built environment. Overall, his research has helped establish foundational knowledge needed to assess risks associated with pollution and to develop science-based strategies for reducing environmental and human exposures.