Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals created by humans that are notorious for being resistant to biodegradation and have been found in ground, surface, and drinking water. Makayla Neldner, a 2022 Hollings scholar, spent her summer internship at NOAA’s Hollings Marine Lab in Charleston, South Carolina, researching how two PFAS compounds, PFHxS and PFHxA, affected the life cycle of larval grass shrimp (Palaemon pugio).
![Makayla stands at a lab bench, looking down at a lab tray that looks to contain shallow water. She holds a transfer pipette in one gloved hand and a sampling vial in the other. She wears protective goggles and an apron. (Image credit: Pete Key) Makayla stands at a lab bench, looking down at a lab tray that looks to contain shallow water. She holds a transfer pipette in one gloved hand and a sampling vial in the other. She wears protective goggles and an apron.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_width_1275/public/2023-11/Hollings_pic2.jpg?h=740f2242&itok=-TgsXPc7)
Makayla Neldner, a 2022 Hollings scholar, studied how some PFAS compounds affect the lifecycle of larval grass shrimp (Palaemon pugio) during her summer internship with the Hollings Marine Laboratory. Here, she looks for grass shrimp molts during a PFHxS toxicity test. (Image credit: Pete Key)