Biological Sciences

Profile

 I am an environmental microbiologist with specific interests in freshwater pollution and wastewater treatment. My current research is part of MicroAqua, a large European project which has been designed and is being implemented according to the guidelines of the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). My research aims to characterise cyanophages which have potential application for the control of cyanobacteria which form toxic blooms in freshwater.

I spent time during my Ph.D evaluating the complicated interactions between chemical and microbiological factors of wastewater treatment, and am particularly interested in the application of genetic profiling techniques, such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), for the assessment of community composition change over time, and in response to environmental variables. The combination of data obtained by molecular techniques, with multivariate statistical analysis, is something which has powerful implications for the study of complex microbial communities such as those found in activated sludge. This is another aspect of my work, based on studies performed during my Ph.D. The research group in the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, where this work was based, has plans to extend these methods of study into the investigation of fats, oils and grease accumulation in wastewater treatment facilities.

I have also been involved with work characterising the metabolic activity of sulphur and iron oxidising bacterial populations associated with the Mary Rose.

Research Interests

• Freshwater cyanophages and their cyanobacterial hosts, their co-evolutionary interactions and diversity in the environment
• The use of multidisciplinary methodology for examining microorganisms in the environment
• The microbiology of package wastewater treatment and biological nutrient removal (BNR) systems
• Microbial ecology associated with the Mary Rose

Other Interests

• Public engagement with science and science communication

Current Timeline

May-June 2013: Visiting Researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Feng Chen, IMET, Baltimore, MD, USA.

May 2013: Presentation: “Isolation of a Generalist Freshwater Cyanophage and Characterisation of its Ability to Switch Host” 113^th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Denver, CO, USA.

May 2013: Training: ‘Do-it-yourself Microbial Genome Sequence Analysis’ ASM, Denver, CO, USA.

August 2012: Presentation: “Characterisation and Diversity of Isolated Freshwater Cyanophages in Water Bodies that Support Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms” 14^th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Awards

2012 - £3000 Society for General Microbiology: Heatley-Payne Award

Education

2007-2011: PhD: “Physico-chemical and Microbial Factors Affecting the Operation of a Package Wastewater Treatment Plant” Supervisor: Dr. Eric May

Presentations

Molecular Investigations into the Microbiology of a Package Wastewater Treatment Plant

5^th European Water & Wastewater Management Conference and Exhibition

26^th – 27^th September 2011, London, UK

Sustained Monitoring of a Novel Package Wastewater Treatment System using a Multidisciplinary Approach

Molecular Microbial Ecology Group Meeting (MMEG) 2010

14^th-15^th December 2010, University of Warwick, UK

The BESST Technology? A Microbiological Evaluation of a NovelPackage Treatment System

The 8th Specialised Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems and the 2nd Specialised Conference on Decentralised Water and Wastewater International Network (IWA Conference)

6^th-9^th February 2008, Coimbatore, India

For full/up-to-date CV please email siobhan.watkins@port.ac.uk