Between September 1 and 11, 2026, the São Paulo School of Advanced Science in Microplastics will take place in Campinas.ESPCA in MicroplasticsThis program is aimed at training early-career researchers to address the challenges of plastic pollution through scientific investigation, critical thinking, and evidence-based public policy. During the program, 50 Brazilian participants and 50 from other countries will have the opportunity to intensively interact with scientists and policymakers from various regions of Brazil and the world, who are leading figures in the field, participating in theoretical and practical classes, poster sessions, and short projects under the mentorship of these experts.
Registration begins on March 20th, through a specific form to be published on the ESPCA Microplastics website. The target audience is master's and doctoral students, as well as postdoctoral fellows and early-career researchers, affiliated with Brazilian and international institutions and with training in a comprehensive set of disciplines related to the theme. To participate, candidates must submit a series of documents, including a letter of intent, a summary of their research project, a letter of recommendation from their advisor, and their academic transcript, in addition to demonstrating proficiency in English, the official language of the event. Those selected will receive financial support that includes transportation, accommodation, meals, and travel insurance (for participants from abroad).
The School, which takes place on the Unicamp campus, is organized in partnership with the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), with funding from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). The research groups responsible for the organization are the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory. (LQA), from Unicamp, and the Plastic Pollution Research Group (GPPP), from UFSCar.
Objectives and selection criteria
The School will focus on interdisciplinarity and an integrated vision, with activities divided into four areas of study: polymers and their added chemical substances; surface interactions between plastics, additives, and environmental pollutants; ecotoxicological impacts; and public debate and viable actions based on evidence and aimed at formulating regulatory policies.
Walter Waldman, a professor at UFSCar and vice-coordinator of the School, explains that these themes, as a whole, encompass the breadth and complexity of the problem of plastic pollution, providing a multidimensional view of these materials and their effects on the environment. This view, the professor affirms, is particularly relevant in the context of the International Treaty on Plastic Pollution, which, once implemented, will be strategic for the environment, health, trade, and the bioeconomy.
Microplastics have an extraordinary potential for transport through air, water, and soil, and recent research has even found them in very remote places such as mountaintops and vast deserts. Cassiana Montagner, a professor at Unicamp and coordinator of the ESPCA in Microplastics, explains that, in addition to sharing analytical, technical, practical, laboratory, and field knowledge, the School will also be fundamental in addressing real problems related to this significant presence of plastics in the environment. “The ESPCA in Microplastics aims to encompass strategic research areas and work with the expertise of each guest and participant, guided by the formation of a solid base for global collaboration capable of responding to the challenges that pollution by these materials poses to biodiversity and life in all its forms.”
Walter Waldman adds that the selection process will seek to provide the maximum possible global and regional diversity in the selection of participants. "This representativeness will guarantee the formation of a national and international research network on microplastics, making Brazil a key player in discussions on regulation." Gender and racial equity will also be among the selection criteria.
Montagner and Waldman, along with Evaldo Espíndola, a professor at the University of São Paulo (USP), are principal investigators in the project nicknamed Plast-Agrotox, which studies the fates and impacts of microplastics and pesticides in aquatic and terrestrial matrices, also funded by FAPESP, in the Thematic Project modality. “We are at a point in our research, both in Plast-Agrotox and in other national and international projects, where many important results regarding the occurrence, fates, behavior, and effects of microplastics are beginning to emerge,” says Montagner, coordinator of Plast-Agrotox. She adds that, from an analytical point of view, the area is very challenging, and it is in this sense that the ESPCA in Microplastics will bring quite significant advances. “We will spend two weeks immersed in perspectives and research methodologies on microplastics, in their different aspects. This in-depth study will support new researchers and young leaders in the field. This will help us boost national research,” he concludes.
Visit the ESPCA website on Microplastics for more information.
