Darren Koppel
He/Him
I am gay and I am an environmental toxicologist.//
I started out in chemistry thinking I would end up developing new pharmaceuticals in a non-Breaking Bad kind of way. During my undergraduate program, though, I did an internship where I fell into the world of environmental toxicology (the research field behind protective environmental guidelines for contaminants). I fell in love with the field and ended up doing a PhD looking at metal contaminant risk from abandoned research stations in Antarctica. These days I’m investigating the risk of contaminants from offshore oil and gas infrastructure that’s up for decommissioning. My goal in science is to help the community, industry, and governments make better decisions about environmental pollution!
Other than research I love snorkelling and diving (i.e. finding nudibranchs), volunteer in an emergency service, and look after way too many indoor plants.