Career Summary
Biography
Maddison completed her Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science and Management at The University of Newcastle in 2013. She then went on to complete Honours in 2014, supported by NSW DPI Fisheries. Her honours research focused on the effectiveness of no-take sanctuary zones in shallow water habitats using baited remote underwater video (BRUVs) as a passive tool to assess fish and crustacean assemblages in the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park. This was the first study to assess biodiversity within the marine park since it was established in 2007.
In 2017, Maddison commenced her PhD with the Global Center for Environmental Remediation (GCER) at The University of Newcastle. During the earlier stages of her PhD, Maddison performed a number of aquatic based surveys to develop baseline information on the occurrence, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in Australia’s coastal environments, before developing an interest in the chemical fingerprint of environmental plastics. She is now working closely with citizen science organisations Tangaroa Blue and the Australian Microplastic Assessment project (AUSMAP), as well as the NSW DPI Fisheries Institute to understand the impacts of microplastics and contaminants on organisms belonging to valuable marine food webs and the potential implications on human health.
Since 2012, Maddison has also been active in a number of volunteer roles, including Vice President of NUSEC (Newcastle University Student Environment Club), Chair of Ocean and Coastal Care Initiatives (OCCI) and Community Representative on the Lake Macquarie Estuary Management Committee.
Keywords
- Analytical chemistry
- Emerging contaminants
- Environmental pollutants
- Environmental science
- Field sampling
- Marine ecology
- Microplastics
- Science communication
- Toxicology
Languages
- English (Mother)
Professional Experience
Academic appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2/2021 - | Algae Bioremediation (Research Assistant) | The University of Newcastle Australia |
Professional appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 1/11/2019 - 1/3/2020 |
Environmental Scientist Researching the ecotoxicity and potential human and environmental health risks of phthalates in Victorian. |
Environment Protection Authority Victoria Applied Science Unit (Water) Australia |
| 4/2/2019 - 5/7/2019 |
Intern Maddison was employed to synthesise global information on the occurrence of microplastics in aquatic environments and the currently available sampling and analytical techniques. She developed an options paper evaluating potential management approaches to effectively reduce microplastics in Victorian wastewater in order to assist EPA Victoria in the regulation and control of microplastics discharged to aquatic environments via wastewater treatment plants. |
Environment Protection Authority Victoria Applied Science Unit (Environmental Solutions) Australia |
Teaching
| Code | Course | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENVS1002 |
Physical and Chemical Environment School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The university of Newcastle, Australia |
Laboratory Demonstrator | 3/8/2020 - 14/9/2020 |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Journal article (8 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |
Senathirajah K, Attwood S, Bhagwat G, Carbery M, Wilson S, Palanisami T, 'Estimation of the mass of microplastics ingested A pivotal first step towards human health risk assessment', Journal of Hazardous Materials, 404 (2021) [C1] The ubiquitous presence of microplastics in the food web has been established. However, the mass of microplastics exposure to humans is not defined, impeding the human health risk... [more] The ubiquitous presence of microplastics in the food web has been established. However, the mass of microplastics exposure to humans is not defined, impeding the human health risk assessment. Our objectives were to extract the data from the available evidence on the number and mass of microplastics from various sources, to determine the uncertainties in the existing data, to set future research directions, and derive a global average rate of microplastic ingestion to assist in the development of human health risk assessments and effective management and policy options. To enable the comparison of microplastics exposure across a range of sources, data extraction and standardization was coupled with the adoption of conservative assumptions. Following the analysis of data from fifty-nine publications, an average mass for individual microplastics in the 0¿1 mm size range was calculated. Subsequently, we estimated that globally on average, humans may ingest 0.1¿5 g of microplastics weekly through various exposure pathways. This was the first attempt to transform microplastic counts into a mass value relevant to human toxicology. The determination of an ingestion rate is fundamental to assess the human health risks of microplastic ingestion. These findings will contribute to future human health risk assessment frameworks.
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| 2021 |
Bhagwat G, Carbery M, Anh Tran TK, Grainge I, O'Connor W, Palanisami T, 'Fingerprinting Plastic-Associated Inorganic and Organic Matter on Plastic Aged in the Marine Environment for a Decade.', Environmental science & technology, 55 7407-7417 (2021) [C1]
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| 2020 |
Carbery M, MacFarlane GR, O'Connor W, Afrose S, Taylor H, Palanisami T, 'Baseline analysis of metal(loid)s on microplastics collected from the Australian shoreline using citizen science', Marine Pollution Bulletin, 152 (2020) [C1]
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| 2020 |
Raju S, Carbery M, Kuttykattil A, Senthirajah K, Lundmark A, Rogers Z, et al., 'Improved methodology to determine the fate and transport of microplastics in a secondary wastewater treatment plant', WATER RESEARCH, 173 (2020) [C1]
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| 2020 |
Idowu O, Carbery M, O'Connor W, Thavamani P, 'Speciation and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in sediments of the largest salt water lake of Australia', Chemosphere, 246 (2020) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Lam CS, Ramanathan S, Carbery M, Gray K, Vanka KS, Maurin C, et al., 'A Comprehensive Analysis of Plastics and Microplastic Legislation Worldwide', Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 229 (2018) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Raju S, Carbery M, Kuttykattil A, Senathirajah K, Subashchandrabose SR, Evans G, Thavamani P, 'Transport and fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: implications to environmental health', Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology, 17 637-653 (2018) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Carbery M, O'Connor W, Thavamani P, 'Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health', ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL, 115 400-409 (2018) [C1]
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Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 4 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $79,500 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20192 grants / $28,000
Microplastics in aquatic environments$20,500
Funding body: University of Melbourne
| Funding body | University of Melbourne |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Maddison Carbery, Dr. Thava Palanisami and Alison Kemp |
| Scheme | Australian Postgraduate Research Internships |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2019 |
| Funding Finish | 2019 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C2220 - Aust StateTerritoryLocal - Other |
| Category | 2220 |
| UON | N |
Fingerprinting chemical contaminants in microplastics - Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP)$7,500
Funding body: Total Environment Centre
| Funding body | Total Environment Centre |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Dr. Scott Wilson, Dr. Thava Palanisami and Maddison Carbery |
| Scheme | Research Grant |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2019 |
| Funding Finish | 2019 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C3112 - Aust Not for profit |
| Category | 3112 |
| UON | N |
20171 grants / $45,000
Occurrence, fate and behavior of microplastics in aquatic environments: Implications to ecological and human health$45,000
Funding body: Newcastle City Council
| Funding body | Newcastle City Council |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Dr. Thava Palanisami and Maddison Carbery |
| Scheme | 50/50 Scholarship |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2020 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C2220 - Aust StateTerritoryLocal - Other |
| Category | 2220 |
| UON | N |
20151 grants / $6,500
Microplastics in Lake Macquarie: Occurrence, distribution and chemical characteristics $6,500
Funding body: Lake Macquarie City Council
| Funding body | Lake Macquarie City Council |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Dr. Thava Palanisami, Maddison Carbery |
| Scheme | Lake Macquarie Environmental Research Grant |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2015 |
| Funding Finish | 2018 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C2220 - Aust StateTerritoryLocal - Other |
| Category | 2220 |
| UON | N |
