Researcher biography

Jake O’Brien is a Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS). He has a keen interest in wastewater-based epidemiology and his PhD focussed on refining the uncertainties and expansion of wastewater-based epidemiology for assessing population exposure to chemicals (conferred in 2017, UQ).

As a research focussed academic, he is interested in wastewater-based epidemiology, understanding the fate of chemicals both within the sewer network and in wastewater treatment plants, developing analytical methods for chemicals of emerging concern, and characterising plastics within biological and environmental samples. Jake is also a Chief Investigator on the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program funded by the Australian Criminal Intelligence.

Featured projects Duration
The Suitability of Wastewater-based Epidemiology for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance
QUEX
Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in the Atmospheric Environment
National Health and Medical Research Council
Antimicrobials and Other Chemicals that Select for Resistance
National Health and Medical Research Council
Wastewater Analysis for the Detection of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited Substances
Sport Integrity Australia
20192022
The Characterisation of Antimicrobial Resistance in Australian Wastewater
QUEX
20202023
Developing a Model for National Wastewater Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial use Surveillance
National Health and Medical Research Council
Improving Estimation of Tobacco Use by Wastewater-based Epidemiology
Australian Research Council
Microplastics in Air
The University of Queensland
Realistic Assessment of Biomarker Transformation in the Wastewater System
ARC Discovery Project
Wastewater Analysis for Drug Monitoring in Correctional Facilities
Queensland Corrective Services
PFAS Identification Algorithm from Mass and Fragmentation Data
National Health and Medical Research Council
Detecting Per-and-Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Unidentified Chemical Compounds
National Health and Medical Research Council
National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
Understanding Australia by Analysing Wastewater During the Census 2021
ARC Linkage Project
A National Wastewater Surveillance Program for Antimicrobial Resistance
National Health and Medical Research Council
Estimating the Use of Tobacco and Nicotine Products Through Wastewater Analysis
ARC Linkage Project
Preliminary Investigations Relating to the Role of Cyanobacterial Blooms in the Amplification and Dispersal of Antimicrobial Resistance
Melbourne Water Corporation
Understanding Food Insecurity and Dietary Habits: A Comprehensive Analysis
Revolutionizing Real-Time Genomic Epidemiology in Urban Wastewater Systems
ARC Discovery Project
Development of Specialised Hyphenated Methodologies for Quantifying New Halogenated Plastic Materials
Australian Research Council
Assessing the Toxicity and Metabolism of New Psychoactive Substances and their Presence in Wastewater
Australia-Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme