Denise M. Mitrano is an assistant professor at ETH Zurich in the Environmental Systems Science Department. As an environmental analytical chemist, her research focuses on the distribution and impacts of anthropogenic materials in technical and environmental systems. She is particularly interested in developing analytical tools to systematically understand the mechanisms and processes driving the fate, transport and biological interactions of particles, such as natural colloids, engineered nanomaterials and nano- and microplastics. In this context, her research group uses these results to assess risks of anthropogenic materials. An interest in a “safer by design” approach for both nanomaterials and plastics is exemplified by working on the boundaries of environmental science, materials science and policy to promote sustainability and environmental health and safety of new materials.