Dr. Bethanie Carney Almroth is a professor of ecotoxicology and environmental science at the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, with 30 years of experience in studying the impacts of pollution in aquatic environments. She has a background in fish physiology and ecotoxicology, conducting research that identifying the sources, fate and effects of plastics, microplastics, and associated chemicals in the environment. This work spans from molecular mechanisms to planetary scale impacts. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental science, animal physiology, aquatic ecotoxicology and biochemical toxicity and advises Master’s students, PhD candidates, and post docs.
Her more recent work has been in collaborative interdisciplinary projects aiming to identify safer and more sustainable solutions to the plastics pollution crisis. She actively communicates this work at the science-policy interface supporting evidence-based decision making. Dr. Carney Almroth is an initiator and co-coordinating the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics, a global group of independent academic scientists working across disciplines to support delegates and negotiators in developing the Global Plastics Treaty. They strive to communicate science in a manner that is relevant and accessible to non-experts and experts alike, to help ensure that policies and best practices are grounded in robust science that is free of conflicts of interest. Her goal is to help decision makers identify sustainable solutions, rather than inadequate or regrettable substitutions.