PhD in Environmental Microbiology

Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme rainfall and flooding, placing pressure on ageing wastewater systems and leading to the release of untreated sewage into rivers and homes./nThis project will use metagenomic, genomic and transcriptomic sequencing to investigate how microbial diversity, antimicrobial resistance, and key pathogens (e.g. E. coli, Leptospira, Norovirus and Exophiala) fluctuate in river systems and flooded residential environments./nSamples will be collected regularly from sewage-impacted rivers and from properties affected by flood events. Data will be analysed using advanced bioinformatics to characterise community structure, resistance genes and mutations, and potential environmental-clinical links./nWorking in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Environment Agency (EA), the project will provide insights to support environmental modelling, risk assessment, and climate resilience planning. The project is based in Birmingham and will be supervised by Johanna Rhodes (UoB), Willem van Schaik (UoB), Marie Chattaway (UKHSA) and Claire Jenkins (UKHSA).