Lillian’s passion for the marine environment and science communication has led her to pursue a multidisciplinary PhD project focusing on the marine plastic pollution problem. She is working to provide data on ocean-sourced plastic pollution that is accumulating in remote Australian regions, and the effectiveness of reuse strategies such as recycled plastic in coastal infrastructure. Lillian has a strong passion for promoting solutions-based approaches to research, with the underlying value of protecting what we love.

In response to increasing plastic pollution and Australian government recommendations such as increasing the use of recycled plastic materials (National Plastics Plan and National Waste Strategy), Lillian's project incorporates expertise from the fields of ecology, analytical chemistry, and engineering, to gather data on marine sourced plastic pollution accumulating on Australian coastlines, as well as assess recycled plastic materials as potential sources of pollution in coastal regions. Her project seeks to provide recommendations for appropriate reuse of these materials, as well as potential avenues to collect and reuse marine sourced plastic waste.