Title
An innovative approach for understanding public health and diseases through wastewater surveillance
PhD summary
To date, there is an urgent need for local and global burden of disease analysis because the community in modern society is facing increasing risks of chemical exposure, mental health, illness and diseases. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a promising approach that extends beyond drug and pharmaceutical monitoring, encompassing human health, well-being, and disease tracking, which has been particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. This project aims to develop a multi-disciplinary approach for understanding public health, wellbeing, and diseases through wastewater surveillance.
This PhD aims to explore chemical, protein, and gene markers in wastewater by using chemical analysis, molecular analysis and genomic sequencing techniques to provide an innovative approach to understanding public health, wellbeing and diseases through wastewater surveillance. The PhD is based at the University of Sydney (Sydney, Australia) and will involve experiments in chemical and/or microbiology lab and computation analysis (e.g. using R or Phyton).
The supervisory team consists of academics within the Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Medicine and Health with active research in wastewater, chemistry, and microbiology.
Key words: Wastewater epidemiology, environmental chemistry, genomic sequencing, microbiology, protein biomarkers
Candidate profile.
- Have a Bachelors degree (1st class honours or equivalent) or a Masters degree
- Have research experience in the field of Environmental Science and Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Biology and Medicine, and relevant disciplines.
- Demonstrated skills in chemical analysis (LCMS) and/or molecular analysis (PCR, sequencing) methods are desirable.
Eligibility.
Candidates will be assessed based on the University of Sydney PhD entry requirements and suitability for the research topic. Both domestic (Australian) and international students are eligible to apply.
Financial Support.
- The PhD student will receive an annual stipend (USyd standard) for 3.5 years.
- Tuition fees will be covered for international students where eligible.
- Funds are available for domestic and international conferences.
Please submit your application through the apply link, or send the required documents to Dr Jiaying Li (jiaying.li@sydney.edu.au).
