Dr. Beizhan Yan received his Ph.D. in 2004 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. and currently is a Lamont Associate Research Professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University. In 2007, he joined LDEO, and since then, he has established an environmental organic geochemistry lab from scratch with the ability to extract, isolate, and identify organic contaminants and biomarkers from environmental and biological samples. He is leading collaborative studies in measuring the microplastic and nanoplastics in NYC waterways and air, characterizing their exposures, and linking exposures to various adverse health outcomes, including neurodegeneration diseases.