Chelsea Rochman

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| name = Chelsea Rochman

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1981|11|26}}

| birth_place = Tucson, Arizona, United States

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| workplaces = University of Toronto (since 2016)

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University of California, San Diego (B.Sc., 2007)
University of California, Davis and San Diego State University (Ph.D., 2013)}}

| thesis_title = Plastic and Priority Pollutants: A Multiple Stressor in Aquatic Habitats

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| thesis_year = 2013

| doctoral_advisors = Eunha Hoh, Brian Hentschel, Swee Teh

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| website = http://www.rochmanlab.com

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Chelsea Marina Rochman is an American marine and freshwater ecologist whose research focuses on anthropogenic stressors (primarily plastic pollution) in freshwater and marine ecosystems.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eeb.utoronto.ca/people/d-faculty/rochman.htm|title=C. Rochman|website=www.eeb.utoronto.ca|access-date=2019-10-27}} Since September 2016, Rochman has been an assistant professor at the University of Toronto in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a scientific advisor to the Ocean Conservancy.

She is currently spearheading a large scale study on the fate and effects of microplastics at the Experimental Lakes Area. The project is entitled {{Proper name|pELAstic}}.[https://rochmanlab.wordpress.com/the-pelastic-project/ The pELAstic Project] Rochman Lab

Education

Rochman received a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, San Diego in Ecology, Behaviour, and Evolutionary Biology in December 2007. In May 2013, under the supervision of Eunha Hoh, Brian Hentschel, and Swee Teh, she received her PhD at the University of California, Davis and San Diego State University in Marine Ecology. Her dissertation focused on assessing the fate and effects of plastic and chemical pollutants in marine ecosystems.{{cite thesis |type=PhD thesis |last=Rochman |first=Chelsea M. |year=2013 |title=Plastic and priority pollutants: a multiple stressor in aquatic habitats}}

Career

From June 2013 to August 2014, Rochman was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Aquatic Health Program at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine while under the supervision of Swee Teh. Following that period, from September 2014 to September 2016, she was a David. H. Smith Postdoctoral Fellow based at the University of California, Davis and the University of Toronto under the supervision of Swee Teh, Susan Williams, and Miriam Diamond. Finally, Rochman was simultaneously hired as an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and contracted by the Ocean Conservancy as a Scientific Advisor in September 2016.

She serves as a referee for multiple journals, including the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Nature Ecology and Evolution, Environmental Chemistry, and she serves as an editorial board member for Science of the Total Environment.

She is a member of multiple societies including the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, the Society for Conservation Biology, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Outreach

Rochman's research has been featured regularly in news outlets, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/city-looks-for-single-use-plastic-solution-1.4853125|title=Toronto needs your help in its quest to end plastic pollution|last=Lee-Shanok|first=Philip|date=October 6, 2018|work=CBC|access-date=October 26, 2019}} The New York Times,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/science/new-research-quantifies-the-oceans-plastic-problem.html|title=Study Gauges Plastic Levels in Oceans|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=December 10, 2014|work=New York Times|access-date=October 26, 2019}} Scientific American,{{Cite news|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/airborne-plastic-is-blowing-all-the-way-to-the-arctic1/|title=Airborne Plastic Is Blowing All the Way to the Arctic|last=Thomson|first=Andrea|date=August 14, 2019|work=Scientific American|access-date=October 26, 2019}} and National Geographic.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/news-plastics-microplastics-human-feces/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229075904/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/news-plastics-microplastics-human-feces/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 29, 2018|title=In a first, microplastics found in human poop|last=Parker|first=Laura|date=October 22, 2018|work=National Geographic|access-date=October 26, 2019}} She regularly works with government and industry to inform science-based policy (e.g., California Bill AB888, US Microbead-free Waters Act, Canada G7 ocean plastics charter), and most recently, she provided testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on the topic of “Marine Debris: Impacts on Ecosystems and Species”.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eeb.utoronto.ca/news-events/eebnews/Assistant_Professor_Chelsea_Rochman_gave_testimony_today_at_the_US_House_of_Representatives_in_DC_on_the_topic_of_Marine_Debris__Impacts_on_Ecosystems_and_Species.htm?DateTime=637045072800000000&PageMode=View|title=Assistant Professor Chelsea Rochman gave testimony today at the US House of Representatives in DC on the topic of Marine Debris: Impacts on Ecosystems and Species|website=www.eeb.utoronto.ca|access-date=2019-10-26}}

At the University of Toronto, Rochman co-founded the [https://rochmanlab.com/trashteam/ University of Toronto Trash Team] (U of T Trash Team). They collaborate with local, national, and international stakeholders and members of the general public to promote general waste literacy and optimal waste reduction strategies.{{cite web |last1=Rochman |first1=Chelsea |title=Outreach: U of T Trash Team |url=https://rochmanlab.com/trashteam/ |website=Rochman Lab |date=3 September 2018 |access-date=26 October 2019}} They are currently involved in projects which aim to divert the flow of microfibers into the Great Lakes,{{cite web |last1=Rochman |first1=Chelsea |title=Divert and Capture: Microfiber Pilot Project |url=https://rochmanlab.com/trashteam/microfiber-pilot-project/ |website=Rochman Lab |date=4 January 2019 |access-date=26 October 2019}} reduce plastic pellet emissions into Mimico Creek,{{cite web |last1=Rochman |first1=Chelsea |title=Operation Sweep the Creek |url=https://rochmanlab.com/operation-sweep-the-creek/ |website=Rochman Lab |date=27 June 2019 |access-date=26 October 2019}} and in collaboration with PortsToronto, explore the utility and efficiency of Seabins (floating trash interceptors) in the Toronto harbour.{{Cite web|url=http://www.portstoronto.com/portstoronto/media-room/feature-stories/seabins.aspx|title=Seabins|website=Ports Toronto|access-date=October 27, 2019}} One of their most recent public outreach initiatives is the “Urban Litter Challenge”. The U of T Trash Team, in concert with members of the general public, document and collect all trash found within multiple regions of the Greater Toronto Area.{{cite web |last1=Rochman |first1=Chelsea |title=Cleaning up our Hidden Shorelines |url=https://rochmanlab.com/2019/10/11/cleaning-up-our-hidden-shorelines/ |website=Rochman Lab |date=11 October 2019 |access-date=26 October 2019}}

Research contributions

Rochman's research investigates the sources, fate, and effects of plastic pollution and associated chemicals, to inform solutions to this growing environmental issue. Her research program also works on developing novel methods for quantifying and characterizing microplastics in the environment.{{cite web |last1=Rochman |first1=Chelsea |title=Research |url=https://rochmanlab.com/research/ |website=Rochman Lab |date=27 August 2016 |access-date=26 October 2019}}

Rochman's early research tested hypotheses pertaining to how chemicals sorb to and from microplastics, and whether microplastics act as vectors for contaminants to marine and freshwater organisms.{{cite journal |last1=Rochman |first1=Chelsea M. |last2=Hentschel |first2=Brian T. |last3=Teh |first3=Swee J. |last4=Meador |first4=James P. |title=Long-Term Sorption of Metals Is Similar among Plastic Types: Implications for Plastic Debris in Aquatic Environments |journal=PLOS ONE |date=15 January 2014 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=e85433 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0085433|pmid=24454866 |pmc=3893203 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...985433R |doi-access=free }} In addition, she used laboratory experiments to quantify the effects of microplastics on fish and invertebrate health.{{Cite journal|last1=Rochman|first1=C. M.|last2=Hoh|first2=E.|last3=Kurobe|first3=T.|last4=Teh|first4=S. J.|date=2013|title=Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=3|pages=3263|doi=10.1038/srep03263|pmid=24263561|pmc=3836290|bibcode=2013NatSR...3E3263R }}{{Cite journal|last1=Rochman|first1=C. M.|last2=Kurobe|first2=T.|last3=Flore|first3=T.|last4=Teh|first4=S. J.|date=2014|title=Early warning signs of endocrine disruption in adult fish from the ingestion of polyethylene with and without sorbed chemical pollutants from the marine environment|journal=Science of the Total Environment|volume=493|pages=656–661|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.051|pmid=24995635|bibcode=2014ScTEn.493..656R }}

Currently, Rochman's research group focuses on the sources and pathways of microplastics and other contaminants into urban watersheds and Arctic ecosystems, the effects of multiple stressors on ecosystems across all levels of biological organization,{{Cite journal|last1=Rochman|first1=C. M.|last2=Browne|first2=A. M.|last3=Underwood|first3=A. J.|last4=van Franeker|first4=J. A.|last5=Thomson|first5=R. C.|last6=Amaral-Zettler|first6=L. A.|date=2016|title=The ecological impacts of marine debris: unraveling the demonstrated evidence from what is perceived|journal=Ecology|volume=92|issue=2|pages=302–312|doi=10.1890/14-2070.1|pmid=27145606|bibcode=2016Ecol...97..302R |hdl=1912/8832|hdl-access=free}} and solutions to reduce plastics pollution.{{Cite journal|last=Rochman|first=C. M.|date=2016|title=Strategies for reducing ocean plastic debris should be diverse and guided by science|journal=Environmental Research Letters|volume=11|issue=4|pages=014006|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/041001|bibcode=2016ERL....11d1001R |s2cid=130049316 |doi-access=free}}