Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science Without Borders)
PhD Project Template:
PI name & contact details:
Catherine Adley
Department
Microbiology Laboratory
Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences
University of Limerick
Limerick
Ireland
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration school?
Research Centre / group affiliation:
Environment for Health Research Group
Research group / centre website:
Centre for Environmental Science
http://www3.ul.ie/~cer/
PI website / link to CV:
Web: www.ul.ie/~ces/CatherineAdley
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
Mobility of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment: Monitoring, surveillance, cross
contamination and hygiene control in particular of food borne pathogens Salmonella and Bacillus
cereus
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Biocides have been in use for hundreds of years for antisepsis, disinfection and preservation.
Despite this widespread and ever increasing use most bacterial and fungal species remain
susceptible to biocides. The dramatic increase and spread of resistance to antibiotics linked to
reports of co- and cross-resistance between antibiotics and biocides raised speculations on potential
hazard of biocide use.
The overarching question which this project addresses: has the use of biocides contributed to the
development and spread of significant antibiotic resistance in human pathogens in particular food
borne pathogesn?
Unique selling points of PhD project in UL:
The candidate will have access to a well-equipped laboratories including:
Microbiology suite: incubators, freezers, temperature controlled incubation rooms. Safety
cabinets, standard and refrigerated centrifuges including Heraeus MegaFuge 40R and 16R;
TypeII Containment facilities; Biocore x100
Molecular Biology suite: Standard personal PCR units; Roche Light Cycler 480II, nanodrop1000
Microscopy suite: AFM-JEOL JEM-2100F; SEM-Carry Scope JEOL JCM-5700; Hitachi SU-70;
Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope Zeiss LSM 710 META;
Spectroscopy suite: Raman Dilor XY Labram spectrometer equipped with an Olympus BX40;
and RamanRXN2 Analyzer-785nm with a selection of probes.
The university is located near an International airport at Shannon
It will be possible to collaborate with Dr. Douglas McIntosh, Universidade Federal Rural do
Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Parasitologia Animal
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
As above
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Environmental science ; Biology; Microbiology; Biochemistry;
Please indicate whether students can apply for:
Sandwich programme only
Full PhD programme only
x
Either of the above
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)
Health and Biomedical Sciences
x
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals
Biotechnology
x
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technology of prevention and remediation of natural disasters
Biodiversity and Bioprospection
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering