Recreational water use and infectious disease: predicting future risks to human health in a warming world

We are seeking a highly motivated individual to carry out interdisciplinary PhD research linking across water quality and applied microbiology, statistical modelling and public health.

Supervised by Dr David Oliver (University of Stirling), Prof Marian Scott (University of Glasgow), Dr Claire Miller (University of Glasgow), Dr Calum McPhail (SEPA) and Dr Richard Quilliam, (University of Stirling).

Climate change represents one of the most significant emerging threats to human health around the world. A particular concern relates to the role of climate change in driving an increase in bacterial infectious diseases, largely through increased human exposure and shifts in the patterns of new and emerging pathogens. While the severity and scale of future consequences of a changing climate on the health & well-being of humans remain unclear, qualitative evidence suggests that the potential consequences of changing weather patterns and climatic systems are complex and varied. These can range from both the immediate and aftermath impacts of extreme events through to more subtle shifts in the nature of pathogen fate and survival in the environment around us.

The coastal environment, and in particular those areas where large numbers of people who use water recreationally, e.g. for swimming or sports, represents a key point of contact for human exposure. This is because the sea acts as a receptor for terrestrially sourced pollution, including faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) & human pathogens from agricultural runoff and storm-water sewage spills. This studentship, with support from SEPA as a CASE partner, will forecast future scenarios of human health risk resulting from exposure to contaminated bathing waters as driven by projected climate change trends, e.g. increasing sea temperatures, and future shifts in landuse change, e.g. agricultural intensification. Therefore, the aim of the project is to provide critical policy relevant data on the impact of environmental change on bathing water quality both now & into the future.

This interdisciplinary project will link environmental microbiology, statistical modelling and epidemiological dataset analysis to inform on regional-to-national scale risks to public health. The project will analyse historical regulatory & observational monitoring data (microbial compliance parameters, salinity, sea surface temperatures) together with epidemiological data to inform quantitative predictions of bather-related illness from 2015 to 2050, and beyond. The project will require a coupling of applied and theoretical statistical modelling with laboratory based approaches for understanding pathogen fate under a changing climate. Data analyses will then be used to explore the refinement & future-proofing of regulatory risk frameworks & tools.

The entry qualification for this PhD studentship is a first class or upper second class honours degree and/or a relevant postgraduate degree, in either biological/environmental sciences, applied statistics or geography. Whilst experience in microbiology would be useful, it is certainly not essential as the student will receive full laboratory training. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 7th June 2017. However candidates are encouraged to apply in advance of this date.
Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr. David Oliver: [Email Address Removed]