Marine Litter Research
Research team
Ansje Löhr has a Master’s degree in Marine Biology (University of Groningen, NL) and a PhD degree in Ecotoxicology (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, NL). She is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Science at the Open University of the Netherlands. Her teaching and research activities are within the research theme “Plastic environmental pollution” covering aspects of (marine) biology, (eco)toxicology, environmental science, integrated water management and learning for sustainable development. She is the project leader of the Massive Open Online Course on Marine litter which is developed in close cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML). Besides she is involved in (international) projects on competence based e-learning. The Soegijapranata Catholic University (Semarang, Indonesia), is one of the important research partners in the research theme Plastic environmental pollution.
Ad Ragas (1964) studied biology and obtained his PhD at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He currently holds a position as a full professor in Environmental Natural Sciences at the Open University in Heerlen (the Netherlands), and as an associate professor in Nijmegen. His main expertise is the modelling of human and ecological risks of chemicals, including (micro)plastics. Within this domain, his focus is on quantifying and assessing uncertainty. He played an active role in European research projects like NoMiracle and PHARMAS, and currently participates in i-PiE and MEDUWA; two large European research projects on the environmental risks of pharmaceuticals. He coordinates the MSc programme in Environmental Sciences at the Open University and teaches several academic courses on risk assessment, GIS and statistics. He chairs the Dutch scientific advisory committee on quality standards for air and water, and is a member of the working group on mixture assessment of the European Food & Safety Authority (EFSA).
Dr. F.G.A.J. (Frank) Van Belleghem is an environmental toxicologist and an assistant professor at the Faculty Science of the Open University of the Netherlands. His teaching activities are in the field of biology, biochemistry, (environmental) toxicology and environmental sciences. He has been involved in several research projects at Hasselt University (Belgium) on the molecular and cellular aspects of toxicity and on the effects of environmental stress on regeneration and stem cell dynamics of the flatworms Schmidtea mediterranea and Macrostomum lignano. His area of expertise covers toxicity of environmental pollutants including nanoparticles and microplastics, oxidative stress, carcinogenesis, neurotoxicity, regeneration and electron- and fluorescence microscopy.
Inneke Hantoro has her Master degree on Food Science (The University of Melbourne, Australia). She is a full time lecturer at the Department of Food Science, Soegijapranata Catholic University, Indonesia. Her teaching and research activities are in areas related to food safety and quality, such as toxicology and food safety, food quality assurance, and risk analysis courses. Currently, she is a PhD student at Faculty Science of the Open University of the Netherlands. Her research is focused on the risk of microplastics in Indonesian coastal areas for coastal seafood species and human health.
Current MSc projects
Moving towards a circular economy to prevent plastic marine litter leakages into the ocean
An analysis of the current plastic footprint, waste management, and plastic stewardship practices within the fast food sector in the city of Semarang.
Thesis committee:
Dr. Ansje Löhr - first OU supervisor
Professor Dr. Ad Ragas - OU assessor
Advising roles:
Prof. Dr. Harold Krikke - OU
Prof. Dr. Budi Widianarko (Soegijapranata Catholic University)
Inneke Hantoro, MSc (Soegijapranata Catholic University)
Environmental impact of stabilizing layers beneath artificial turfs.
Thesis committee:
At the Open Universiteit:
Dr. A.J. Löhr - first OU supervisor
Prof. dr. A.M.J. Ragas - OU assessor
External supervisor at RIVM:
Dr. ir. A.J. Verschoor
Commercial waste management and closing the plastics supply chain loop to prevent plastic marine litter in Indonesia
An analysis of the current state of the commercial waste management system and incentives for businesses to close the plastic supply chain loop in order to prevent leakage of plastic into the ocean in the city of Semarang.
- Faculty of Science | Open University
- Soegijapranata Catholic University, Indonesia
Milieueffecten van kunstgrasvelden
- Faculty of Science | Open University
- Rijks Instituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM) – National Institute for Public Health and the Environment