Francesca is a graduate of the ICTOX Lab. She was in a cohort of students who were driven and diligent in examining the presence and effects of microplastics in the Ithaca area. When COVID struck in her senior year, she was devastated that she was shut out of the lab and couldn’t complete her research on microplastics in the southern tributaries in Cayuga Lake. As an Environmental Studies major, Francesca did not have the science background of the other students in the lab, but that did not stop her on this project. It also did not stop her from applying to OSU’s Toxicology Program, or from taking on one of the first studies to look at how nanoplastics affect human lung cells grown in culture. Francesca’s work looked at numerous endpoints, ranging from cytotoxicity to oxidative stress. She is defending her master’s research on June 6th 2023, and is headed straight into the PhD program in Environmental Public Health. Way to go Frankie!