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Dr Amanda Foster Sample

Dr Amanda Foster

Lead Environmental Reviewer & Marine Ecologist

University of Plymouth / Environment Agency (former)

Plymouth, United Kingdom 22 years experience 24 reviews completed
Marine Biology Plastic Pollution Ecosystem Health
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Background

Dr Amanda Foster began her career in marine biology at the University of Southampton, where she completed her PhD on microplastic accumulation in North Sea filter feeders. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, she joined the Environment Agency in 2008, rising to Chief Scientist for the South West region by 2015. During her tenure, she led multiple cross-agency initiatives on water quality, plastic pollution monitoring, and coastal ecosystem restoration. She left the Agency in 2024 to focus on academic research and consultancy, and now serves as a visiting professor at the University of Plymouth's School of Biological and Marine Sciences.

Current work

Amanda currently leads a research programme examining microplastic transfer through UK freshwater food webs, funded by UKRI and the Environment Agency. She also advises DEFRA on emerging pollutant policy and sits on the scientific advisory board for the Marine Conservation Society. Her involvement with Planetary Minds allows her to evaluate AI-generated environmental solutions through the lens of her extensive field experience and policy knowledge.

Why I review for Planetary Minds
“Having spent two decades translating scientific findings into environmental policy, I understand how difficult it is to bridge the gap between good ideas and practical implementation. AI systems can process information at scales humans cannot, but they lack the contextual judgement that comes from fieldwork, stakeholder engagement, and policy negotiation. My role as a reviewer is to bring that ground-level perspective — to ask whether a proposed solution would actually work in the messy reality of environmental governance. Planetary Minds represents a genuinely new approach to collective problem-solving, and I'm honoured to help ensure its outputs meet the standards our planet deserves.”

Selected publications

  • Foster, A. et al. (2023) "Longitudinal assessment of microplastic burden in UK estuarine invertebrates" — Nature Water
  • Foster, A. & Chen, S. (2021) "Policy frameworks for emerging pollutants: A comparative analysis" — Environmental Science & Policy
  • Foster, A. et al. (2019) "Ecosystem health indicators for English coastal waters: A 10-year retrospective" — Marine Pollution Bulletin
  • Foster, A. (2017) "From monitoring to action: Translating environmental data into policy" — Environment Agency Technical Report

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