UCLA Engineering Doctoral Student Lisa Lowe Discovers Microplastics in Chewing Gum

On the Big Island, where black lava cliffs and rainforests give way to turquoise waves, native Hawaiian Lisa Lowe grew up with a deep-rooted respect for nature. From an early age, she was taught that the environment isn’t just a resource — it’s home. 

“Nature isn’t just something we use — it’s part of who we are,” Lowe said. “We have this saying, malama ‘āina — it means to care for and protect the land. That was instilled in me from the start.”

Today, Lowe is a first-year environmental engineering Ph.D. student at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, where she is gaining national recognition for her research on microplastic pollution — including a study that recently revealed a surprising source of exposure: chewing gum. 

“Yes, we are chewing plastic,” Lowe said. “Many people don’t realize that some gum bases are made of plastic polymers. Even natural gums can still release microplastics.”

Co-led by Lowe and associate civil and environmental engineering professor Sanjay Mohanty, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA, the research was published earlier this year and featured by national news media outlets. Using analytical techniques in Mohanty’s lab, the team tested both synthetic and natural chewing gums, finding that both released microplastics — with synthetic gums typically shedding more, up to 637 particles per gram, mostly within the first eight minutes of chewing. The most common polymers detected included polystyrene, polyolefins and polyterephthalate, known as PET.

“We still don’t fully understand the health risks,” she said. “There isn’t enough long-term data on how these particles interact with the human body, but the concern is growing. Microplastics have been found in lungs, livers, even in human placentas and the brain. That should make us pause.”

Lowe has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, one of the nation’s most competitive fellowships supporting graduate students in STEM fields. The five-year award provides three years of full funding, which Lowe said helped tip the scales toward pursuing a Ph.D.

“It’s been a game-changer,” Lowe said. “Right after undergrad, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue a master’s or a Ph.D. — the NSF fellowship helped make that decision clear.”

Before arriving at UCLA, Lowe earned a B.S. in Biological Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her undergraduate years were filled with hands-on experience, including designing a nanobubble generator to stimulate algae growth and working on water purification systems for rural communities in Cambodia.

“I’ve always believed that the best solutions for the environment are ones that work with nature, not against it,” she said.

Her roots in Hawaii and Native Hawaiian heritage continue to guide that philosophy. Growing up in Kailua-Kona, surrounded by land and sea, Lowe said she didn’t fully grasp how precious her home’s natural resources were until she left.

“Nature isn’t just something we use — it’s part of who we are,” said Lisa Lowe. “We have this saying, malama ‘āina — it means to care for and protect the land. That was instilled in me from the start.”

“It’s easy to take it for granted when it’s all around you,” she said. “But when I got to college, I realized how much the environment needs protecting — especially in places that haven’t had the same connection to nature that we have in Hawaii.”

That ethos aligns with the mission of the Subsurface Engineering & Analysis Laboratory, Mohanty’s research group at UCLA, which focuses on environmental sustainability, water quality and pollutant transport. Lowe initially joined the group as a summer research intern but stayed on as a graduate student, drawn by both the work and the mentorship.

“Dr. Sanjay Mohanty is very dedicated to the success of his students, and you can feel the support,” Lowe said. “He is very knowledgeable in this field, and is very good at helping us while also giving us room to learn.”

Though chewing gum was the focus of this particular study, Lowe notes that microplastics are practically everywhere, from tea bags to salt and cutting boards. She emphasizes that the issue isn’t just about what we consume, but how our lifestyles have normalized plastic exposure.

Such widespread contamination isn’t just limited to homes — it’s something researchers have to avoid in the lab as well.

“Microplastics are in the air, on your clothes, even in your saliva,” she said. “We had to use control blanks, pre-rinse protocols and rigorous quality assurance just to make sure our gum samples weren’t picking up plastics from the lab environment or from us.”

Looking ahead, Lowe plans to focus her Ph.D. work on designing green infrastructure for water remediation — systems that use soil, plants and microbes to clean water and reduce pollution runoff in urban areas.

“As the climate continues to change and pollution increases, we need systems that can adapt and protect water quality,” she said. “That’s where I hope to make a long-term impact.”

For students interested in environmental science or still finding their way in STEM, Lowe offers this advice: Start with one project.

“You don’t need to have it all figured out right away,” she said. “Just get involved. Join a lab, apply what you learn. That’s how I found my path — one project at a time.”