Dimitri Deheyn

Dimitri Deheyn is a Research Scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego (UCSD). There, Deheyn studies the “biology” of small microplastics (sMPs) across ecosystems and, for example, addresses what their sources are, how they are transported, and where they accumulate, including in which organs.

His interest is to know the total concentration of sMPs in organs and also whether different types of plastic (such as polyester, nylon, polypropylene, which are, for example, broadly speaking from different sources such as textiles, ropes and plastic bags, respectively) have affinity for different organs due to their own tailored surface chemistry. For example, it is clear that lungs will have mostly sMPs from textile materials, which comes with their own set of additives. In the lab, we digest samples of tissues from organs we receive using the conventional method of potassium hydroxide, which keeps the plastics intact for further analyses (whether counting or plastic polymer identification). We do this with a diversity of organs from a diversity of species, from fishes and marine mammals to humans.

As an ecotoxicologist, Deheyn also includes the toxicity aspects of sMPs on various organisms, including humans (using cell line models). Deheyn is trained as a marine biologist but also considers himself an expert generalist, taking advantage of crossing disciplines to enable innovation across fields of science. As such, he also holds an affiliate position in the engineering department of UCSD. Deheyn has a global perspective of environmental challenges, and thus works internationally as well..

Check Deheyn’s TEdx talk on this topic (https://youtu.be/v8EY7z9D-Vg?si=yhdMGP4c3tO9Qukv)

And his lab website (https://deheynlab.ucsd.edu/microplastics/) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitri-deheyn-933264b/).

August 2025