AURORA partners met in Utrecht, the Netherlands for the final in-person full project meeting
On March 24–25, 2026, AURORA project partners met in Utrecht, the Netherlands for the final consortium meeting of the project.
With AURORA officially ending in September 2026, discussions focused on planning final research steps and future dissemination activities. The final months of the project promise to be very busy with exciting scientific and policy-relevant publications in the pipeline.
All work packages shared updates on their most recent progress and invited the entire consortium for input on preliminary results and planned activities.
Throughout the AURORA project, discussions on methodologies to detect, quantify, and measure any physiological impacts of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in biological samples took center stage. Research on MNP particles in relation to human health is still in early scientific stages, and many analytical methods still need to be further developed and tested. The work of AURORA scientists involved in such method development is pushing this field forward. Many scientific publications within AURORA are in the final stages and set to be released later this year.
AURORA’s epidemiological research is also progressing well, with much of the data analysis now being finalized. These analyses will help shed more light on any public health impacts of MNPs, especially for pregnant women and during early-life.
Part of AURORA’s mandate is also to synthesize available research into an actionable roadmap toward risk assessment of micro- and nanoplastics. Our scientists are working hard to bring all of the different pieces of this project together and produce a final synthesis to guide future research and policy within the field.
Insights into the learnings and outcomes of the AURORA project will be shared publicly during the project’s Final Event in Maastricht, the Netherlands on May 21, 2026. The event will be a unique opportunity to hear from AURORA scientists directly about what they learned, what challenges remain, and where future research should focus its efforts. Participation is free for anyone interested and available in person or online.
You can learn more about all the people involved in AURORA on the team page as well as follow the latest updates on the project’s research via the news page and through the project’s LinkedIn page.
