
Overview
Background
Cassandra is a Senior Research Fellow at QAEHS, joining the group in 2019. She completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2014 where her research focussed on determining how humans are exposed to flame retardants from their indoor environments. Following her PhD she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Environment and Climate Change Canada where she was the principal researcher for the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network, researching chemicals of concern in the atmosphere. Following her Postdoctoral Fellowship she worked for the Oil Sands Monitoring Program in Canada, assisting with facilitating a multi-stakeholder funding program for assessing environmental impact of Oil Sands operations, before returning to Australia in 2019.
At QAEHS she is the project lead investigating human exposure to microplastics and developing new methods for detecting micro and nanoplastics in human matrices. Her other research interests include the impact of tyre road wear particles and the chemical additives they contain on urban water ways, and developing novel biomonitoring methods for assessing human exposure to chemicals of concern (e.g. silicone wristbands and breast implants).
Availability
- Dr Cassie Rauert is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), University of Sydney
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Birmingham
Research interests
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Impact of tyre wear and tyre additive chemicals on the environment
Tyre road wear particles (TRWPs) are formed through every day abrasion of tyres on road surfaces and are now recognised as one of the largest sources of microplastics to the urban environment. Whilst being a significant source of microplastics they also contain a wide range of harmful additive chemicals. Our group is studying the occurrence, fate and impact of TRWPs and the chemicals they contain on the Australian environment with the aim of reducing their concentrations and impact.
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Human exposure to plastics
Humans are exposed to microsize and nanosize plastics everyday but there is still little understanding on this exposure, particularly their fate after we are exposed. In collaboration with the Minderoo foundation we are developing robust analytical methods to confidently quantify plastics in human matrices and assess if there is a risk from this exposure.
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Environmental occurrence of microplastics
Microplastics are one of the biggest pollution challenges the world is currently facing. Yet there is still limited understanding on sources and fate in the environment. Our research group at QAEHS is investigating how micro and nanosized plastics enter the environment, how they are transported through environmental compartments and their long term fate once in the environment. By understanding sources and fate we can implement measure to reduce and remove these pollutants.
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Non-invasive samplers for human biomonitoring
We are constantly exposed to a myriad of different chemicals in our everyday lives (the chemical exposome). There is still a lack on understanding on the extent of this exposure and the bioaccumulation of these chemicals within the human body. We are developing non-invasive samplers, coupled with non-target analysis techniques, to determine the human body burden of our chemical exposures. These methods include silicone wristbands and reclaiming medical waste (silicone breast implants) for analysis of exposure and accumulation.
Works
Search Professor Cassie Rauert’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Journal Article
Evidence of time dependent degradation of polypropylene surgical mesh explanted from the abdomen and vagina of sheep
Farr, Nicholas T. H., Gregory, David A., Workman, Victoria L., Rauert, Cassandra, Roman, Sabiniano, Knight, Alexander J., Bullock, Anthony J., Tartakovskii, Alexander I., Thomas, Kevin V., Chapple, Christopher R., Deprest, Jan, MacNeil, Sheila and Rodenburg, Cornelia (2024). Evidence of time dependent degradation of polypropylene surgical mesh explanted from the abdomen and vagina of sheep. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 160 106722, 1-32. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2024.106722
2024
Journal Article
Effect-Based Water Quality Assessment in an Urban Tributary under Base Flow and Storm Conditions
Rauert, Cassandra, König, Maria, Neale, Peta A., Thomas, Kevin V. and Escher, Beate I. (2024). Effect-Based Water Quality Assessment in an Urban Tributary under Base Flow and Storm Conditions. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 11 (12), 1314-1320. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00866
2024
Journal Article
Trends of benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles in Australian pooled urine samples from 2012 to 2023
Que, Danielle E., Wang, Xianyu, Nilsson, Sandra, Zammit, Ian, Muir, Derek C. G., Rauert, Cassandra, Toms, Leisa-Maree L., Prasad, Pritesh, Shiels, Ryan G., Eaglesham, Geoff, Hobson, Peter, Langguth, Daman and Mueller, Jochen F. (2024). Trends of benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles in Australian pooled urine samples from 2012 to 2023. Environmental Science and Technology, 58 (45), 19960-19969. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c08824
2024
Journal Article
How do plastics, including microplastics and plastic-associated chemicals, affect human health?
Seewoo, Bhedita J., Goodes, Louise M., Thomas, Kevin V., Rauert, Cassandra, Elagali, Ahmed, Ponsonby, Anne-Louise, Symeonides, Christos and Dunlop, Sarah A. (2024). How do plastics, including microplastics and plastic-associated chemicals, affect human health?. Nature Medicine, 30 (11), 3036-3037. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-03287-x
2024
Journal Article
Priorities to inform research on tire particles and their chemical leachates: A collective perspective
Obanya, Henry E., Khan, Farhan R., Carrasco-Navarro, Victor, Rødland, Elisabeth Støhle, Walker-Franklin, Imari, Thomas, Jomin, Cooper, Adam, Molden, Nick, Amaeze, Nnamdi H., Patil, Renuka S., Kukkola, Anna, Michie, Laura, Green-Ojo, Bidemi, Rauert, Cassandra, Couceiro, Fay, Hutchison, Gary, Tang, Jinglong, Ugor, Joshua, Lee, Seokhwan, Hofmann, Thilo and Ford, Alex T. (2024). Priorities to inform research on tire particles and their chemical leachates: A collective perspective. Environmental Research, 263 120222, 120222. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.120222
2024
Journal Article
UV sources and plastic composition influence microplastic surface degradation: implications for plastic weathering studies
Burrows, Stephen, Colwell, John, Costanzo, Sarah, Kaserzon, Sarit, Okoffo, Elvis, Ribeiro, Francisca, O'Brien, Stacey, Toapanta, Tania, Rauert, Cassandra, Thomas, Kevin V. and Galloway, Tamara (2024). UV sources and plastic composition influence microplastic surface degradation: implications for plastic weathering studies. Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, 14 100428, 100428. doi: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2024.100428
2024
Journal Article
Blueprint for the design, construction, and validation of a plastic and phthalate-minimised laboratory
Rauert, Cassandra, Wang, Xianyu, Charlton, Nathan, Lin, Chun-Yin, Tang, Cheng, Zammit, Ian, Jayarathne, Ayomi, Symeonides, Christos, White, Emily, Christensen, Michael, Ponomariova, Valentina, Mueller, Jochen F., Thomas, Kevin V. and Dunlop, Sarah (2024). Blueprint for the design, construction, and validation of a plastic and phthalate-minimised laboratory. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 468 133803, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133803
2024
Journal Article
Deep dive into the chronic toxicity of tyre particle mixtures and their leachates
Boisseaux, Paul, Rauert, Cassandra, Dewapriya, Pradeep, Delignette-Muller, Marie-Laure, Barrett, Robyn, Durndell, Lee, Pohl, Florian, Thompson, Richard, Thomas, Kevin V. and Galloway, Tamara (2024). Deep dive into the chronic toxicity of tyre particle mixtures and their leachates. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 466 133580, 133580. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133580
2023
Journal Article
A Hitchhiker's guide to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) monitoring in air: establishing a baseline network in Sri Lanka
Vlahos, Penny, Shipley, Emma R., Rauert, Cassandra, Tung, Phoebe, Chandrajith, Rohanna, Wickramarathna, Sudeera and Harner, Tom (2023). A Hitchhiker's guide to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) monitoring in air: establishing a baseline network in Sri Lanka. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 14 (12) 101901, 101901. doi: 10.1016/j.apr.2023.101901
2023
Journal Article
Evaluation and identification of chemical migrants leached from baby food pouch packaging
Tang, Cheng, Gómez Ramos, María José, Heffernan, Amy, Kaserzon, Sarit, Rauert, Cassandra, Lin, Chun-Yin, Mueller, Jochen F. and Wang, Xianyu (2023). Evaluation and identification of chemical migrants leached from baby food pouch packaging. Chemosphere, 340 139758, 139758. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139758
2023
Journal Article
Impacts of proximity to primary source areas on concentrations of POPs at global sampling stations estimated from land cover information
Schuster, Jasmin K., Harner, Tom and Rauert, Cassandra (2023). Impacts of proximity to primary source areas on concentrations of POPs at global sampling stations estimated from land cover information. ACS Omega, 8 (39), 36016-36024. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c04065
2023
Journal Article
NORMAN guidance on suspect and non-target screening in environmental monitoring
Hollender, Juliane, Schymanski, Emma L., Ahrens, Lutz, Alygizakis, Nikiforos, Béen, Frederic, Bijlsma, Lubertus, Brunner, Andrea M., Celma, Alberto, Fildier, Aurelie, Fu, Qiuguo, Gago-Ferrero, Pablo, Gil-Solsona, Ruben, Haglund, Peter, Hansen, Martin, Kaserzon, Sarit, Kruve, Anneli, Lamoree, Marja, Margoum, Christelle, Meijer, Jeroen, Merel, Sylvain, Rauert, Cassandra, Rostkowski, Pawel, Samanipour, Saer, Schulze, Bastian, Schulze, Tobias, Singh, Randolph R., Slobodnik, Jaroslav, Steininger-Mairinger, Teresa, Thomaidis, Nikolaos S. ... Krauss, Martin (2023). NORMAN guidance on suspect and non-target screening in environmental monitoring. Environmental Sciences Europe, 35 (1) 75. doi: 10.1186/s12302-023-00779-4
2023
Journal Article
InSpectra – A Platform for Identifying Emerging Chemical Threats
Feraud, Mathieu, O’Brien, Jake W., Samanipour, Saer, Dewapriya, Pradeep, van Herwerden, Denice, Kaserzon, Sarit, Wood, Ian, Rauert, Cassandra and Thomas, Kevin V. (2023). InSpectra – A Platform for Identifying Emerging Chemical Threats. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 455 131486, 1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131486
2023
Journal Article
Analytical challenges and possibilities for the quantification of tire-road wear particles
Rødland, Elisabeth S., Gustafsson, Mats, Jaramillo-Vogel, David, Järlskog, Ida, Müller, Kathrin, Rauert, Cassandra, Rausch, Juanita and Wagner, Stephan (2023). Analytical challenges and possibilities for the quantification of tire-road wear particles. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 165 117121. doi: 10.1016/j.trac.2023.117121
2023
Journal Article
High-resolution mass spectrometric profiling of stormwater in an Australian creek
Dewapriya, Pradeep, Rousis, Nikolaos, Rauert, Cassandra, Thomaidis, Nikolaos S. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2023). High-resolution mass spectrometric profiling of stormwater in an Australian creek. ACS ES and T Water, 3 (8), 2502-2511. doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.3c00119
2023
Journal Article
Characterization and quantification of oxidative stress induced particle debris from polypropylene surgical mesh
Farr, Nicholas T. H., Rauert, Cassandra, Knight, Alexander J., Tartakovskii, Alexander I. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2023). Characterization and quantification of oxidative stress induced particle debris from polypropylene surgical mesh. Nano Select, 4 (6), 395-407. doi: 10.1002/nano.202200243
2023
Journal Article
Assessment of background plastics contamination from human respiratory tract sample collection vessels
Okoffo, Elvis D., Rauert, Cassandra, Boots, Robert, Fielding, David, Bashiradeh, Farzard, Singh, Mahendra and Thomas, Kevin V. (2023). Assessment of background plastics contamination from human respiratory tract sample collection vessels. Water Emerging Contaminants and Nanoplastics, 1 (1) 4, 1-9. doi: 10.20517/wecn.2022.22
2023
Journal Article
There's something in the air: a review of sources, prevalence and behaviour of microplastics in the atmosphere
O'Brien, Stacey, Rauert, Cassandra, Ribeiro, Francisca, Okoffo, Elvis D., Burrows, Stephen D., O'Brien, Jake W., Wang, Xianyu, Wright, Stephanie L. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2023). There's something in the air: a review of sources, prevalence and behaviour of microplastics in the atmosphere. Science of the Total Environment, 874 162193, 1-33. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162193
2023
Journal Article
Mass quantification of microplastic at wastewater treatment plants by pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
Okoffo, Elvis D., Rauert, Cassandra and Thomas, Kevin V. (2023). Mass quantification of microplastic at wastewater treatment plants by pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Science of the Total Environment, 856 (Part 2) 159251, 1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159251
2022
Journal Article
Tyre additive chemicals, tyre road wear particles and high production polymers in surface water at 5 urban centres in Queensland, Australia
Rauert, Cassandra, Vardy, Suzanne, Daniell, Benjamin, Charlton, Nathan and Thomas, Kevin V. (2022). Tyre additive chemicals, tyre road wear particles and high production polymers in surface water at 5 urban centres in Queensland, Australia. Science of the Total Environment, 852 158468, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158468
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Cassie Rauert is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
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Non-invasive samplers for characterising chemical exposure
We are continually exposed to a complex mixture of chemical pollutants through several pathways. Our exposures are highly specific, with different patterns of exposure from the different aspects of our lives. Increasing complexity in the chemicals being used and produced makes characterising this exposure increasingly challenging. To address this challenge there is a need for improved and robust biomonitoring methods to understand the complete picture of our exposures which will facilitate effective mitigation strategies against exposure to chemicals of high concern.
This project will develop and apply polydimethylsiloxane (silicone) as a non-invasive human biomonitoring device to advancing understanding on key and unknown chemical exposures to the Australian population. Using silicone wristbands and donated silicone prostheses (breast implants) chemical exposures in a range of scenarios will be quantified through both target and non-target chemical analysis using chromatographic techniques coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/LC-MS). The successful applicant will have access to a range of archived samplers specific to various exposure scenarios as well as the advanced analytical instrumentation necessary to successfully complete the project.
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High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Characterisation of Ubiquitous Environmental Contaminants of Emerging Concern
A clear challenge for environmental regulatory agencies globally is the identification of emerging chemical hazards. Evolving capabilities in high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS – AB Sciex) now allow for the retrospective suspect screening of archived data. A proposed approach for the effective identification of emerging chemical risks is the sharing of HRMS data to investigate the environmental occurrence of newly identified contaminants without the need to collect and analyse new samples. This ICHDR project will develop the data processing workflows (algorithm and platform selection) that will allow for the effective identification of new chemical hazards within the context of understanding risk associated with exposure. The outcome of this project will be validated advanced techniques and data processing workflows to identify ubiquitous chemical hazards that are historic, new or emerging.
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High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Characterisation of Ubiquitous Environmental Contaminants of Emerging Concern
A clear challenge for environmental regulatory agencies globally is the identification of emerging chemical hazards. Evolving capabilities in high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS – AB Sciex) now allow for the retrospective suspect screening of archived data. A proposed approach for the effective identification of emerging chemical risks is the sharing of HRMS data to investigate the environmental occurrence of newly identified contaminants without the need to collect and analyse new samples. This ICHDR project will develop the data processing workflows (algorithm and platform selection) that will allow for the effective identification of new chemical hazards within the context of understanding risk associated with exposure. The outcome of this project will be validated advanced techniques and data processing workflows to identify ubiquitous chemical hazards that are historic, new or emerging.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Human exposure and accumulation of plastics
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
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Doctor Philosophy
The fate of plastics in soils
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
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Doctor Philosophy
Development of Specialised Hyphenated Methodologies for Quantifying New Halogenated Plastic Materials
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Elvis Okoffo
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Doctor Philosophy
Human exposure and fate of micro/nanoplastics
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
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Doctor Philosophy
DETERMINATION OF MICRO AND NANOPLASTICS IN BREAST MILK, BLOOD AND MECONIUM SAMPLES FROM MOTHERS-INFANTS IN AUSTRALIA
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
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Doctor Philosophy
Characterisation and Quantification of Nanoplastics in the Environment Using Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Elvis Okoffo
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Doctor Philosophy
Non-Targeted High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Characterisation of Highly Mobile and Highly Persistent Chemicals
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Jake O'Brien
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Doctor Philosophy
Assessing microplastic inputs from ships
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Elvis Okoffo, Professor Kevin Thomas
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Doctor Philosophy
Assessing dietary exposure to plastics and associated chemicals
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
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Doctor Philosophy
Microplastic exposure
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jake O'Brien, Dr Fisher Wang, Professor Kevin Thomas
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Cassie Rauert directly for media enquiries about:
- environmental impact of tyres
- Microplastics
- tyre chemicals
- tyre wear in the environment
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