Advanced Metagenomics, Sensors and Photocatalysis for Antimicrobial Resistance Elimination [AMSPARE]
The overall aim of this project is to understand the impact of antibiotic pollution on the environmental microbiology and to design effective measures for monitoring antibiotic levels and to remove them from the waste if they are present. This will be mediated through the engagement with industry and policymakers with the development of policies and regulatory framework based on the data obtained from this project.
The proposal is focused on Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), as communication with CETP owners and pollution boards has identified a need to for these enterprises. To achieve the overall aim of the project it will be divided into four work packages, each addressing specific objectives that feed into the overall aim.
Work Package 1
Hypothesis: AMR in bacteria is driven by a combination of anthropogenic factors and this influences potential reservoirs for infections and also complex microbial communities in the environment.
Objective 1: to create an AMR map through geochemical and metagenomic analysis.
Objective 2: to determine the influence of anthropogenic factors on microbial communities through their characterisation.
Work Package 2
Hypothesis: novel, optical and electrochemical sensing systems deployed in the CETP system will determine levels of antimicrobials presence in waste and provide an effective monitoring system for environmental release of these compounds.
Objective 1: to develop and validate sensors to a variety of antibiotics that can detect antibiotic in effluent at different concentrations to limit environmental exposure.
Work Package 3
Hypothesis: photocatalytic processing will remove antibiotic residues and kill AMR bacteria already in the effluent and minimising risk of AMR development in the water ways.
Objective 1: to develop and validate photo catalytic technologies for a variety of antibiotics and at different concentrations in the effluent of CETPs.
Work Package 4
Hypothesis: the attainment of a detailed AMR map and effective monitoring systems from this project will engage authorities and industry to support each other in waste water management and create effective regulations and policies.
Objective 1: to consolidate industry and government relationships and create and develop effective strategies to regulate antibiotic waste in the environment.
Key Project Summary
This proposal brings together experts on sensor technologies, water treatment and remediation from India with experts on environmental microbiology, meta-omics geochemistry and policy and industrial regulatory processes from the UK, to engage the issue of AMR proliferation in the environment. Specifically, we will focus on the potential for increased AMR due to aggravation by pharmaceutical waste entering waterways. This research would engage with the Indian pharmaceutical industry to study the AMR production 'metabolism', within a complex interplay of environmental geochemical and microbiological processes, in order to refine policy and improve regulatory control in pharmaceutical waste management. In brief, the inter-disciplinary research team from the UK and India will assess the life cycle of pharmaceutical wastewater through analysis of chemical and AMR profiling surrounding small to medium pharmaceutical plants that discharge waste into Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs).
CETPS are the main focus in this study for wastewater antimicrobial contamination. Large plants now are committed to solid waste disposal. Microbial profiling will include abundance of antibiotic resistant genes and effects of complex microbial communities through a combination of metagenomics, digital droplet PCR and culture studies. In parallel, waste 'clean up' will be addressed through the employment of low cost sensors to detect what residues are present in the waste and affordable photocatalytic technology to remove the residues before the effluent is discharged into the environment. Validation of these technologies will be carried out under laboratory conditions using site samples and maintaining the chemical and microbial profile obtained from our mapping work. Overall, this work seeks to make a significant contribution to the governance and mitigation of one of the most significant health threats of our time.
Publications
Cameron, A., Esiovwa, R., Connolly, J., Hursthouse, A., Henriquez, F. (2022, forthcoming) ‘Antimicrobial resistance as a global health threat: The need to learn lessons from the COVID‐19 pandemic’, Global Policy, DOI: 10.1111/1758-5899.13049
Connolly, J., Henriquez, F., Hursthouse, A. (2022, forthcoming), ‘Antimicrobial resistance in the real world (AMR)’, in Hantrais, L. How to Manage International Multidisciplinary Research Projects, Edward Elgar.
Members/Key Staff
Name: Professor Fiona Henriquez
Position: Professor, School of Health and Life Sciences
Email: fiona.henriquez@uws.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 141 8483119
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/fiona-henriquez-mui
Name: Professor John Connolly
Position: Professor of Public Policy
Email: john.connolly@uws.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 141 848 3667
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/john-connolly
Name: Professor Andrew Hursthouse
Position: Professor of Environmental Geochemistry
Email: Andrew.hursthouse@uws.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 141 848 3213
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/andrew-hursthouse
Name: Dr Ronnie Mooney
Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: ronnie.mooney@uws.ac.uk
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/ronnie-mooney
Name: Dr Kiri Rodgers
Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: kiri.rodgers@uws.ac.uk
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/kiri-rodgers
Name: Dr Regina Esiovwa
Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: regina.esiovwa@uws.ac.uk
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/regina-esiovwa-2
Name: Ms Elisa Giammarini
Position: PhD candidate
Email: elisa.giammarini@uws.ac.uk
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/elisa-giammarini
Name: Ms Anishka Cameron
Position: PhD candidate
Email: Anishka.cameron@uws.ac.uk
PURE profile link: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/persons/anishka-cameron
Collaborators on the India-UK AMR project:
Name: Professor Soumyo Mukherji
Position: Professor in the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay
Email: mukherji@iitb.ac.in
link: https://iitb.irins.org/profile/51534#personal_information_panel
Name: Professor Suparna Mukherji
Position: Professor in the Department of Environment Science and Engineering
Email: mitras@iitb.ac.in
link: http://www.esed.iitb.ac.in/faculty/suparna-mukherji
Last updated: 19/01/2022