Stéphanie Birnstiel holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences (Fluminense Federal University; Brazil) and a master’s degree in Marine Biology (University of Algarve; Portugal), which were partially pursued at the University of New South Wales (Australia) and at the Institute of Marine Sciences (Spain), respectively. Passionate about marine plastic pollution, she has studied its impacts on various organisms, such as mussels, oysters, seagrasses, sea turtles and bacteria. At ICTA-UAB, her project focuses on understanding and predicting the microplastic dispersion and accumulation in the marine environment. She hopes it will allow the assessment of the real impacts of plastic pollution in the ocean and help provide solutions.