Dick Vethaak is a biologist and toxicologist. He is currently a guest researcher at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in Delft. His areas of expertise include assessing water quality and ecosystem health, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and the fate and effects of plastic debris. His research currently focuses on the health effects of microplastics within the Dutch Zon program. He is also co-leader of the MOMENTUM project (the Dutch Microplastics and Human Health consortium), which aims to determine and ultimately prevent the effects of micro- and nanoplastics on human health.