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Dr Numair Masud
(he/him)
Teams and roles for Numair Masud
Research Associate
School of Biosciences
Overview
I am passionate about understanding how plastic pollution, including the chemicals associated with plastics, affects aquatic ecosystems, with a particular focus on freshwater environments. My research investigates the environmental and biological impacts of conventional plastics and emerging alternatives, while examining how plastic pollution interacts with other anthropogenic stressors to influence aquatic organism behaviour, physiology, health, and disease susceptibility.
Key research interests:
- Environmental and toxicological impacts of plastics and their associated additives
- Environmental safety of plastic alternatives and material substitutes compared with conventional plastics
- Interactions between plastic pollution and other anthropogenic stressors, including eutrophication and infectious disease
- Effects of multiple stressors on freshwater organism welfare, physiology, behaviour, and disease resistance
Publication
2025
- Masud, N. et al. 2025. Assessing the solubility, chemical stability and ecotoxicology of an emerging non-halogenated flame retardant, melamine cyanurate, against a prevalent halogenated congener, tetrabromophthalic anhydride. Aquatic Toxicology 287 107537. (10.1016/j.aquatox.2025.107537)
- Masud, N. , Cosgrove, C. and Cable, J. 2025. Benchmarking the sub-lethal chronic aquatic toxicity of an emerging biosurfactant (Sophorolipid) to a traditional amine oxide surfactant in a freshwater fish-pathogen system. Ecotoxicology 34 , pp.1144-1148. (10.1007/s10646-025-02887-8)
- Khan, S. et al. 2025. Epidemiological and genotypic assessment of cystic echinococcosis in ruminant populations of Northern Punjab, Pakistan: a neglected zoonotic disease. Parasitology Research 124 7. (10.1007/s00436-025-08451-x)
- Cheung, S. J. et al. 2025. Assessing the chemical interactions and biological effects of a petrochemical and bio-based plastic with a common plastic flame retardant and solvent. Science of the Total Environment 958 177958. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177958)
2024
- MacAulay, S. , Masud, N. and Cable, J. 2024. Analysis of bamboo fibres and their associated dye on a freshwater fish host-parasite system. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 31 (38), pp.51025-51036. (10.1007/s11356-024-34626-7)
- Masud, N. et al. 2024. Infectivity of an emerging fish parasite Gyrodactylus sprostonae in juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio). Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries 4 (3) e170. (10.1002/aff2.170)
- James, J. et al., 2024. Using eDNA to detect freshwater invasive non-native species under controlled conditions. Management of Biological Invasions 15 (1), pp.41-50. (10.3391/mbi.2024.15.1.03)
- Robison-Smith, C. et al. 2024. A class of their own? Water-soluble polymer pollution impacting a freshwater host-pathogen system. Science of the Total Environment 907 168086. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168086)
2023
- MacAulay, S. et al. 2023. The impacts of synthetic and cellulose-based fibres and their associated dyes on fish hosts and parasite health. Environmental Science and Pollution Research (10.1007/s11356-023-30794-0)
- Masud, N. and Cable, J. 2023. Microplastic exposure and consumption increases susceptibility to gyrodactylosis and host mortality for a freshwater fish. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 153 , pp.81-85. (10.3354/dao03721)
2022
- Masud, N. et al. 2022. Differential effects of two prevalent environmental pollutants on host-pathogen dynamics. Chemosphere 295 133879. (10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133879)
2020
- Jackson, J. A. et al., 2020. Partitioning the environmental drivers of immunocompetence. Science of the Total Environment 747 141152. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141152)
- Masud, N. et al. 2020. Cost of a deprived environment - increased intraspecific aggression and susceptibility to pathogen infections. Journal of Experimental Biology 223 (20) jeb229450. (10.1242/jeb.229450)
- Masud, N. et al. 2020. Noise pollution: acute noise exposure increases susceptibility to disease and chronic exposure reduces host survival. Royal Society Open Science 7 (9) 200172. (10.1098/rsos.200172)
- Masud, N. 2020. A fishy tale: the impact of multiple stressors on host behaviour, physiology, and susceptibility to infectious disease. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
2019
- Masud, N. et al. 2019. Not going with the flow: locomotor activity does not constrain immunity in a wild fish. Ecology and Evolution 9 (21), pp.12089-12098. (10.1002/ece3.5658)
- Masud, N. , Ellison, A. and Cable, J. 2019. A neglected fish stressor: mechanical disturbance during transportation impacts susceptibility to disease in a globally important ornamental fish. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 134 (1), pp.25-32. (10.3354/dao03362)
Articles
- Masud, N. et al. 2025. Assessing the solubility, chemical stability and ecotoxicology of an emerging non-halogenated flame retardant, melamine cyanurate, against a prevalent halogenated congener, tetrabromophthalic anhydride. Aquatic Toxicology 287 107537. (10.1016/j.aquatox.2025.107537)
- Masud, N. , Cosgrove, C. and Cable, J. 2025. Benchmarking the sub-lethal chronic aquatic toxicity of an emerging biosurfactant (Sophorolipid) to a traditional amine oxide surfactant in a freshwater fish-pathogen system. Ecotoxicology 34 , pp.1144-1148. (10.1007/s10646-025-02887-8)
- Khan, S. et al. 2025. Epidemiological and genotypic assessment of cystic echinococcosis in ruminant populations of Northern Punjab, Pakistan: a neglected zoonotic disease. Parasitology Research 124 7. (10.1007/s00436-025-08451-x)
- Cheung, S. J. et al. 2025. Assessing the chemical interactions and biological effects of a petrochemical and bio-based plastic with a common plastic flame retardant and solvent. Science of the Total Environment 958 177958. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177958)
- MacAulay, S. , Masud, N. and Cable, J. 2024. Analysis of bamboo fibres and their associated dye on a freshwater fish host-parasite system. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 31 (38), pp.51025-51036. (10.1007/s11356-024-34626-7)
- Masud, N. et al. 2024. Infectivity of an emerging fish parasite Gyrodactylus sprostonae in juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio). Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries 4 (3) e170. (10.1002/aff2.170)
- James, J. et al., 2024. Using eDNA to detect freshwater invasive non-native species under controlled conditions. Management of Biological Invasions 15 (1), pp.41-50. (10.3391/mbi.2024.15.1.03)
- Robison-Smith, C. et al. 2024. A class of their own? Water-soluble polymer pollution impacting a freshwater host-pathogen system. Science of the Total Environment 907 168086. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168086)
- MacAulay, S. et al. 2023. The impacts of synthetic and cellulose-based fibres and their associated dyes on fish hosts and parasite health. Environmental Science and Pollution Research (10.1007/s11356-023-30794-0)
- Masud, N. and Cable, J. 2023. Microplastic exposure and consumption increases susceptibility to gyrodactylosis and host mortality for a freshwater fish. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 153 , pp.81-85. (10.3354/dao03721)
- Masud, N. et al. 2022. Differential effects of two prevalent environmental pollutants on host-pathogen dynamics. Chemosphere 295 133879. (10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133879)
- Jackson, J. A. et al., 2020. Partitioning the environmental drivers of immunocompetence. Science of the Total Environment 747 141152. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141152)
- Masud, N. et al. 2020. Cost of a deprived environment - increased intraspecific aggression and susceptibility to pathogen infections. Journal of Experimental Biology 223 (20) jeb229450. (10.1242/jeb.229450)
- Masud, N. et al. 2020. Noise pollution: acute noise exposure increases susceptibility to disease and chronic exposure reduces host survival. Royal Society Open Science 7 (9) 200172. (10.1098/rsos.200172)
- Masud, N. et al. 2019. Not going with the flow: locomotor activity does not constrain immunity in a wild fish. Ecology and Evolution 9 (21), pp.12089-12098. (10.1002/ece3.5658)
- Masud, N. , Ellison, A. and Cable, J. 2019. A neglected fish stressor: mechanical disturbance during transportation impacts susceptibility to disease in a globally important ornamental fish. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 134 (1), pp.25-32. (10.3354/dao03362)
Thesis
- Masud, N. 2020. A fishy tale: the impact of multiple stressors on host behaviour, physiology, and susceptibility to infectious disease. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
Research
Latest Research Project
Plastic fish: assessing the scale, chemical properties, and biological effects of petrochemical plastics and plastic substitutes and material alternatives on freshwater fish
Role: Co-Investigator and Research Associate
This project has two broad aims: use cutting edge polymer analysis to investigate the scale, and biochemical properties of plastic polymers within aquaculture and investigate the impacts of a subset of these common plastics and associated chemical additives on fish health. Specific objectives:
1) Plastic survey: identify and quantity plastic contamination in UK freshwater aquaculture facilities.
2) Petrochemical plastics: determine the chemical adsorption and desorption capacity of microplastics in relation to plasticisers, thermal stabilisers, and aquatic toxins as well as understanding their impacts on aquaculture fish growth, metabolism, disease resistance and underlying molecular mechanisms.
3) Biobased plastics: determine the degradability, adsorption, and desorption capacity of biobased plastics (i.e., bioplastics) compared with petrochemical plastics within aquatic environments and their biological impacts on fish health.
Broad Research Themes
Plastic pollution and toxicology: Investigating the toxicological effects of plastics, microplastics, and their associated additives using aquatic model organisms, including guppies (Poecilia reticulata), Daphnia magna, and Chlorella vulgaris. This research also examines whether emerging plastic alternatives and material substitutes offer safer environmental outcomes than conventional plastics.
One Health and multiple stressors: Taking an interdisciplinary One Health approach to investigate how plastics and other anthropogenic stressors, including eutrophication and infectious disease, affect aquatic organisms, ecosystems, and human health. This research draws on collaborations across the Schools of Biosciences, Chemistry, Engineering, and Psychology.
Host–parasite interactions as indicators of environmental stress: Investigating how environmental stressors influence host responses to parasitic infections. By examining host–parasite interactions, which are integral to natural ecosystems, this research explores an underutilised approach to understanding how pollutants and other environmental pressures affect organism health, disease susceptibility, and welfare.
Line manager
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Freshwater ecology
- Fish pests and diseases
- Polymers and plastics
- Toxicology
- Bioavailability and ecotoxicology