I am an Environmental Virologist, working within the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences at Bangor University. I am the lead Virologist on the BlueAdapt project, which aims to investigate and mitigate the risk of waterborne pathogens in a changing climate. I gained my PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Salford, Manchester in 2018. My research focused on the role of resistance to deformed wing virus (DWV) in European honey bees.
Over my career I have developed molecular methods for viral detection in host species and environmental samples. At the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, I joined Bangor University as a Postdoctoral researcher in the public and environmental health surveillance lab. During this time, I focused my research on method development for the concentration and recovery of SARS-CoV-2 and other human-derived viruses from wastewater samples. I developed molecular techniques for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and other human-derived viruses in wastewater, using both NGS and PCR platforms.
My current research focuses on the effects of a changing climate on sewage-borne human viruses found in coastal and estuarine environments. The research is of importance as it will provide much needed information about the risks of sewage-borne viruses to human health. I am also interested in emerging molecular technologies and how they can be applied to analyse host species, and environmental samples, to assess viral prevalence, abundance, and diversity. Insights from this type of analysis are valuable for improving pandemic preparedness moving forward.