QAEHS in Focus shines the spotlight on QAEHS staff and students to showcase the expertise and talent within our Centre.
How long have you worked at/been involved with QAEHS?
I started working with QAEHS 8 months ago.
What is your favourite thing about working at/with QAEHS?
I love the collaborative atmosphere. There’s people with very diverse areas of expertise but everyone is passionate about environmental health and people are genuinely open to a new collaborations. I’m also very impressed with all the top-level analytical equipment.
What is something you learned in the last week?
That rubber vulcanisers from tires are major contaminants of roadside air, soil and creeks, despite seldom studied (guess who I was chatting to?)
What research are you working on now?
I am a chemical engineer and a biotechnologist so a lot of my research sits in between chemical and biological processes.
I’ve been investigating the biotransformation of chemicals of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and in the sewer, and also trying to find solutions for emerging biological hazards originating from water systems. A different bioprocess I’m working on is bioresource recovery from wastes, namely the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates that can be used to replace conventional plastics.
How does environmental health feature in your work?
I’m interested in understanding the principles of biological and chemical transformation of emerging contaminants such as PPCPs and PFAS. These compounds are not easily removed in conventional WWTPs and can accumulate in the human body or the environment impacting both public health and wildlife. Another part of my work is the isolation of bacteriophages of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is an opportunistic pathogen that can be deadly especially for the immunocompromised. Such phages can be used to treat affected patients through phage therapy and also for biofilm control in water pipes. I’m currently also gathering data to conduct a risk assessment about Naegleria fowleri, the deadly brain-eating amoeba, in water bodies of Queensland.
Environmental health is also featured in two of the courses I teach at UQ: Environmental Health Risk-Biological Hazards and Emerging Issues in Urban Water & Public Health.
What is your favourite movie?
Depends on the mood, but some of my favourites are Invictus, Stranger than life and the Italian comedy Welcome to the South. And really enjoy a movie afternoon in family watching Ratatouille or Back to the Future.
Random fact you would like to share about yourself.
I love walking, especially bushwalking but also just walking through the streets of Brisbane’s beautiful suburbs.
