Michelle is an ecotoxicologist in the arena of chemicals, waste and pollution. She has two undergraduate degrees: BEd (Hons) Science in the Environment (University of Oxford) and BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science (Manchester Metropolitan University), and a PhD in Environmental Engineering (University of Southampton). Over the past 23 years as a government scientist and academic, Michelle has been involved in a plethora of assessments, policy developments, research projects, and other activities related to addressing the sound management of chemicals, waste and pollution, while being employed at the: University of Southampton (2001-2005), Fisheries Research Service (2005-2008), which is an agency of the Scottish Government, University of Portsmouth (2008-2020), Scottish Government Marine Scotland Science (2020-2021), Scotland’s Rural University College (2020-2021), and the University of Glasgow (2021-ongoing) where she is currently employed as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Environmental Science and Risk.

She is the Research Director for Scotland’s National Centre for Resilience, Senior Fellow of the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is a member of the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) Roster of Experts, which was formally known as the Technical Advisory Group to the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) Executive Director, Sherpa to the European Commission’s High-Level Round Table for the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, European Commission expert on chemicals, waste and pollution to support the coordination of and synergies between the Green Deal call projects, PIANOFORTE partnership’s Advisory Board member, UK Government Chemicals Stakeholder Forum member, Scottish Chemical Policy Network (SCPN) member, and and member of the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) Specialist Advisory Group, addressing the issues and challenges to the circular economy as posed by Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

Michelle is a member of the CIVIS Participatory Council and University of Glasgow Senate member. She is the Editor-In-Chief of Sustainable Environment journal and is a member of the Taylor and Francis Editorial Advisory Board. She is a Review Editor for Frontiers in Frontiers in Marine Science - Marine Pollution, ‘Women in Toxicology’ Topic Editor for Frontiers Toxicology, Editor for the book series Issues on Environmental Science and Technology (Royal Society of Chemistry) and UK Science Media Centre expert on chemicals, waste and pollution. 

Michelle is a Past President of SETAC Europe (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry), having served as the President (2021-2022) and as a member of the SETAC World Council between 2001-2023 (receiving Presidential Citations from the outgoing SETAC World Presidents in 2021 and 2022 for her contribution to SETAC and science). Since 2014, she has been an active member of the SETAC UK Branch governance. Michelle is Chair of the SETAC Advisory Panel on Chemicals Management (CheM) and is SETAC’s Representative for engagement with UNEP’s Open Ended Working Group Science-Policy Panel for the Sound Management of Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Prevention (as SETAC is accredited to the UNEP Scientific and Technical Community Major Group) and she is a member of SETAC Europe’s High Level Round Table Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Sounding Board.

Linkedin Profile: Michelle Bloor | LinkedIn

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• Aquatic and soil ecotoxicology
• Pollution control and mitigation
• Bioremediation
• Chemical, waste and pollution policy
• Sustainability  
• Science communication
• Science policy interface
• Stakeholder engagement and analysis
• Waste management

Michelle welcome enquiries about supervision relating to her research interests.

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She has received ~£7 million in competitive research funding for projects in her areas of expertise.

Active and recently completed research projects:

2024-2027, Global Health and the Environment Interdisciplinary Research Theme (GHE IRT). 

The Global Health and Environment Interdisciplinary Research Theme is a University of Glasgow, College of Social Science funded project, which will facilitate the creation of interdisciplinary research networks, support interdisciplinary funding bids, provide seed funding and other inicitatives to support early career researchers.

2024, H₂O pollution: holistic approach and nature based solution (Funding: CIVIS Blended Intensive Programme (BIP)).

This transnational and transdisciplinary course will focus on two key sustainability challenges of today's societies, clean water and energy supply, and will bring together a European team of experts in ecology, microbiology, environmental chemistry, pollution assessment, environmental and health risk assessment, bioremediation, and waste-to-energy bioprocesses.

The course is framed by the European Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, which sets out Europe’s zero pollution ambition, to better protect citizens, animals and the environment from harmful substances. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate a holistic understanding and approach to water pollution, and apply nature-based solutions to real-life problems.

- This course will take place between the 20th January-14th February 2025 online and at the Sapienza University of Rome. Further details about the course can be found here.

2024, SPINDLE: Assessing the risk of pesticide leaching from sheep fleece - novel peatland restoration approach using sheep fleece logs (Funding: UK Environment Agency). 

Peatland restoration plays a key role in Scotland’s green recovery and is helping to deliver a just transition to net-zero by supporting the rural economy. Restoring peatland is one of the most effective ways of locking in carbon, offering a clear nature-based solution to both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss (Nature Scot, 2023). Coir (coconut husk) is often used in peatland restoration to reduce the loss of peat caused by erosion, which is achieved by staking coir logs across erosion channels. These logs are usually manufactured overseas and then shipped to the UK. Consequently, the coir log approach has a high carbon footprint, which reduces its ability to contribute to carbon reduction, and international shipping delays also frequently impact the availability of coir. A viable alternative to coir logs might be sheep fleece logs however, once a year, sheep are dipped in a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide. This project aims to identify if pesticides remain on the wool post-sheering, and at what concentrations, and could they potentially leach into the surrounding environment, which would reduce the viability of the approach.  

2023, H₂O pollution: holistic approach and nature based solution (Funding: CIVIS Blended Intensive Programme (BIP)).

This transnational and transdisciplinary course will focus on two key sustainability challenges of today's societies, clean water and energy supply, and will bring together a European team of experts in ecology, microbiology, environmental chemistry, pollution assessment, environmental and health risk assessment, bioremediation, and waste-to-energy bioprocesses.

The course is framed by the European Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, which sets out Europe’s zero pollution ambition, to better protect citizens, animals and the environment from harmful substances. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate a holistic understanding and approach to water pollution, and apply nature-based solutions to real-life problems.

- Further detail about the course can be found here.

2023, Assessing the behavioural and technical responses to textile-derived microplastic pollution (Funding: NERC Discovery, U.K.).

This interdisciplinary research addresses the current magnitude of textile derived microplastic pollution from domestic laundry, working with industry members and the public. This project aims to (1) identify common factors which either drive or prevent the implementation of measures to reduce textile fibre pollution; (2) determine the scale and composition of fibre waste arising from domestic washing of textiles; (3) develop recommendations for washing machine filter standards based on real world observations.

2022-2023, Everyday plastics and water insecurity: a case study based in Kenya (Funding: Glasgow Centre for International Development, U.K.).

Light and durable plastic containers are widely used to carry and store water, but little is known regarding the effects of repurposed plastics on water quality and human health. Plastics degrade over time, and their constant re‐use, abrasive cleaning, and exposure to daylight/ high temperatures are likely to accelerate the release of microplastics. Furthermore, plastics may release biodegradable organic carbon, promoting microbial growth with an impact on the quality and the safety of the water stored. This interdisciplinary project aims to: (1) explore the re‐use, repurposing, recycling and disposal of plastics used for water storage; and (2) assess the impact of plastic bottle reuse on water quality and biological stability. 

2022-2023, RIFFLE: The environmental, wildlife, and human health risks of the remobilisation of pollutants from river sediments during flood events (Funding: National Centre for Resilience, Scottish Government, U.K.).

A long-term hazard from flood water is often underestimated: Rivers in spate swirl up pollutants from their sediments that stem from environmental pollution decades or centuries ago. Such harmful substances can not only cause ecological damage in the river, but can also deposit themselves on flooded areas affecting crops, grazing livestock and humans. This project aims to understand the potential risk of river sediments to Scottish agricultural land during flooding incidents. 

2022-2023, Heat Balance - Alpha Phase (Funding: Strategic Innovation Fund, Ofgem/Innovate U.K.).

Displacing fossil fuel, primarily natural gas, for heating represents a major challenge for the electricity system due to the huge peak demand for heat and the huge seasonal variation heat demand, requiring network reinforcement. A further challenge arises from the increasing levels of intermittent renewable generation required to support the demand. There are periods during the year when renewable (wind) generation is insufficient to meet demand, and others when it is curtailed at considerable cost to customers and loss of a valuable low carbon energy resource. The main objective of project  is to demonstrate the application of large-scale thermal energy storage (LTES) to exploit curtailed wind and support inter-seasonal alignment of wind generation and thermal demand.

- Michelle led a work package on the social and environmental impacts.

2021-2023, POWAN: Pollution at the water-agriculture nexus in southern Scotland (Funding: University of Glasgow Reinvigorate Research, U.K.).

Agriculture sustains and defines our modern lives, but often disrupts natural ecosystems. This is especially true for plant communities, animal populations, soil systems, and water resources. Understanding, evaluating, and balancing detrimental and beneficial agricultural disturbances of soil and water resources are essential tasks in human efforts to sustain and improve human well-being. Such knowledge influences our emerging ethics of sustainability and responsibility to human populations and ecosystems of the future. This project aims to advance understanding of diffuse and point sources of water pollution, from agricultural practices, with specific focus on pharmaceuticals (antibiotics), nitrogen, and phosphorus, in a Southern Scotland context.

2019-ongoing, MIND the gap: Filling the gap for science-based policymaking in integrated environmental assessment and management.

Chemicals are essential for the well-being, high living standards and comfort of modern society. They are used in many sectors, including health, energy, mobility and housing. However, most chemicals have hazardous properties which can harm the environment and human health. This project aims to explore the European Commission's Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, which was published in 2020, and to fill the gaps for science-based policymaking. 

A selection of past projects include, but not limited to:

2019-2021, Development of a novel analytical testing strategy for phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEICT).

2019-2021, Development of hybrid 'green' technology to remove antibiotics from wastewaters.

2017-2020, Salinisation and salinity management: the impact on Asian Delta coastal areas.

2016 - 2019, Fate and effect of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on freshwater.

2012 - 2015, Investigation into the toxicological implications of seven commonly dispensed pharmaceuticals in Nigeria on freshwater environments.

2010-2015, Economics of waste management in Sri Lanka.

2007-2008, Identification of  the main types of environmental bottleneck for fish populations in heavily impacted agricultural catchments.

2005-2007, The influence of invertebrate drift on fish productivity and growth.

2004-2008, SUE Waste Project 3 (GR/S79626/01).

2004-2008, CROPGEN (EU FP6-SUSTDEV).

2001-2004, Impact of landfill leachate, from non-engineered chemical landfill site, on the far field aquatic environment, development of a pollution control, mitigation and remediation package.

Michelle has supervised 7 PhD students and 100+ Masters projects. She has also acted as an external examiner and internal examiner for PhDs and MPhils.

  Current PhD projects include:

• Alwakdany M Ghazi, Nada

The environmental impact, policy and waste management of single-use plastic in Saudi Arabia (2022-2025).

• MA, Tao

Green Space and Social Wellbeing: identifying how green space perceived, its quality characteristics and value to communities in Scotland (2022-2025).

• MORDI, Ijeoma Jessie

Crude oil pollution-induced shift in microbial community structure and function (2022-2025). 

Michelle is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She has completed Aurora, which is Advance HE's leadership development initiative for women, and she has also completed Advance HE's development programme for external examiners.

In addition to supervising undergraduate and postgraduate research, Michelle is also Course Convenor for:

• Level 2, DUMF2019 Energy: Options for Sustainability
• Level 3, DUMF3080P Environmental Placements
• Level 4, DUMF4008P Environmental Stewardship Projects
• Level 5, DUMF5137 Research Methods in Environmental Risk Management