According to Anna Faber's UWA profile page, the School of Molecular Sciences PhD candidate is a science all-rounder – it’s an apt description, with three majors in biology, chemistry, and high school teacher training, she is also a passionate science communicator and Forrest Research Scholar.

Image: Anna aims to tackle marine plastic pollution by developing environmentally-friendly, microbial solutions.

Her current research involves tackling one of our oceans’ biggest pollution problems by training bacteria to eat plastics in marine conditions to improve recycling efforts – and potentially converting the biproduct into useful bioplastic materials in the process.

Speaking to Research on the Record, Ms Faber reveals the startling extent of plastic contamination across the globe.

She also discusses how diversifying her studies helped her find her calling and shares her experiences of different academic systems.