PhD opportunity: High-resolution wastewater surveillance of targeted pathogenic strains of Enterobacteriacae and their plasmids on local scales.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has proven utility for tracking the emergence and spread of pathogenic microbial species. Metagenomics is commonly used to profile whole microbial communities, as well as individual antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). However, these data tend to offer relatively course resolution at the intra-species level, and there can be considerable technical challenges in assembling plasmid sequences.

This project will focus on high-resolution localised surveillance of key target pathogenic strains exhibiting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in wastewater. We will develop an extensive suite of bespoke markers targeting high priority E. coli and Klebsiella strains, and their plasmids, known to be circulating within communities local to Bath. We will use high throughput qPCR to track strain dynamics across the three sites over time, thus providing early warning of the emergence of high-risk pathogens.

Read more and apply.

Written by

helena

July 16, 2026