Dr Michaela Lerch

Dr. Michaela Lerch is a Research Fellow at Griffith University. Her focus is on the identification of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in Antarctic media, such as air and seawater. Her research is part of the project "Uncovering Antarctica’s Secret Chemical Voyagers for Expedited Regulations", an international collaboration between Griffith University, the University of Queensland (specifically QAEHS), NILU, and Environment Canada.

During her PhD in analytical chemistry, Dr. Lerch contributed to enhancing consumer safety through the characterisation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food contact materials, real food, and food simulants. Her work involved identifying PFAS in paper-based food contact materials using suspect screening with LC-HRMS (LC-Orbitrap and LC-QToF) and quantifying targeted PFAS in food samples following migration tests using LC-MS/MS (LC-QqQ).