Antibiotics and other chemicals that select for antimicrobial resistance in the environment

Antibiotics and other chemicals that select for antimicrobial resistance in the environment
Antimicrobials are commonly used agents for the purpose of disease treatment and prevention. They revolutionized modern medicine and to this day are integral for how we treat disease both in humans and animals. However, their overuse and misuse combined with a lack of new antibiotics have posed antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which means that previously treatable diseases are becoming increasingly difficult and, in some cases, impossible to treat. AMR is an internationally recognized global crisis. In fact, by 2050 it is estimated that there will be 10 million deaths per annum from AMR and cost the global economy US$100 trillion. Nowadays, antimicrobials and AMR have become ubiquitous among organisms and the environment, especially the aquatic environment, causing severe health, environmental and ecological risks. In response, places such as Australia have implemented measures to reduce overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in addition to collecting data from acute and community healthcare settings. Despite this, there is still a lack of data on the use of antimicrobials in the general population. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a potential surveillance tool for monitoring antimicrobial use in the general population, but as of yet a full assessment of its suitability has not been conducted. My PhD focusses on determining the suitability of WBE for antimicrobial use surveillance. Sub aims include to establish a high-throughput WBE method for the monitoring of antimicrobials in aquatic environments and for the estimation of antimicrobial use at community-scale across Australia.
Jinglong Li completed his Bachelor at China Agricultural University in 2015, and the Master at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2018. Jinglong joined QAEHS in 2021 to pursue a PhD and is researching on antibiotics and other chemicals that select for antimicrobial resistance in the environment.
Please note this is a PhD Candidate confirmation review presentation.