Dr. Jaime Ross, University of Rhode Island
RI-INBRE investigator and SURF mentor Dr. Jaime Ross (URI Assistant Professor in the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience), was recently interviewed by CBS News on the topic of “How tiny plastic particles may impact the body.” Dr. Ross has also appeared on the Rhode Island PBS Weekly, and WPRI Channel-12 News to discuss her research on microplastics and the impact on the body. “Now is the time to understand the human health risks associated with micrro-nanoplastic exposure. We need to know their lifecycle in the body and how they might be contributing to health outcomes.”
In 2023, Dr. Ross and Dr. Coleen Suckling (Assistant Professor in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences) were awarded seed funding through RI-INBRE and the URI Plastics: Land to Sea Initiative. The co-sponsored seed grant is the first-ever jointly awarded funding through RI-INBRE and URI Plastics’ seed program. This seed funding was crucial to Dr. Ross as it allowed her to transition her research focus to the effects of microplastics on the human body. The seed funding has allowed Dr. Ross and Dr. Suckling to research the lifecycle of microplastics in the body and their contribution to Alzheimer’s disease.
The seed funding allowed the pair to hire two undergraduate research students and two graduate students in each of their labs. Lauren Gasper, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences doctoral, assisted Dr. Ross with her research and Sarah Davis, Biological and Environmental Sciences doctoral student, assisted Dr. Suckling in her research. Dr. Ross has applied to be a SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) mentor again this year to have a SURF student work in the research lab this summer.
In 2023, Dr. Ross, Lauren Gaspar, Sydney Bartman (Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences doctoral candidate), and Dr. Giuseppe Coppotelli (URI Assistant Professor in the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, and SURF Mentor), published “Acute Exposure to Microplastics Induced Changes in Behavior and Inflammation in Young and Old Mice” in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. This publication was funded by RI-INBRE, and Dr. Ross also published two manuscripts with the research conducted and her research has made her a leader in her field.
In addition to her publications, Dr. Ross has been featured in the New York Post “Microplastics trigger behavioral changes akin to dementia: study”, Gizmodo “Microplastics Can Travel Into the Brain and Cause Behavioral Changes, Study Finds”, Tech Explorist “Behavioral shifts triggered by microplastics across body systems”, The Boston Globe “New study finds more than 1,000 tons of microplastics in Narragansett Bay”, Rhode Island PBS Weekly, and WPRI Channel-12 News.
With the research data collected, Dr. Ross is applying for more substantial grants to continue to research the life cycle of plastics. In March 2024, Dr. Ross is applying for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant and in June 2024, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research project grand program (R01). The R01 grant is for mature research projects and is an extremely competitive grant. Click here to read more about Dr. Ross’ research and to learn more about her appearances as well as publications.