08/03/07 - Public Lecture MRSA & Antibiotic Resistance - how we shape the environment that shapes the bacteria

Presenter: Prof. Martin Cormican, Head of the Department of Bacteriology & EHHTIWQ Principle Investigator.

Prof. Martin Cormican gave a very interesting public lecture on 8th March 2007 in the O'hEocha Theatre in the Arts Millennium Building, NUI Galway. The event was chaired by the ECI Director Prof. S. Gerard Jennings. Prof. Cormican gave a scientific account for the emergence of the "superbug" MRSA and the reasons why it is such a difficult problem particularly in hospital and healthcare settings. He used layman’s terms to explain how the abuse and over-prescription of antibiotics has contributed to the problem, and explained that there is no quick fix to irradiating MRSA from our hospitals. Prof. Cormican's team of researchers working on the EHHTIWQ project, are currently investigating the presence of antimicrobial residues and antimicrobial resistant organisms in effluent and drinking water supplies.

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28/01/07 - Gold at Environ 2007 for Siobhan!

Siobhan Dorai-Raj, research assistant on WP3 of this project successfully won gold for the best poster at Environ 2007. Her poster entitled "On the trail of water pollution-using bacteria to track the sourse of water pollution" was selected as best overall poster from stiff competition. Two students working on WP6, Rory Coffey and Richard Kennedy also presented their work at Environ 2007. Dr. Donna Kilmartin and Dr. Martina Prendergast also chaired some of the sessions at the conference which was held in Carlow IT. All posters can be viewed on our PUBLICATIONS page.






30/11/06 - Sandra Galvin, Department of Bacteriology - Winner of "Science Speak at NUI Galway - What am I doing in Science"

During Science Week NUI Galway hosted "Science Speak at NUI Galway - What am I doing in Science". The event was organised by the Irish Universities Promoting Science. It gave a number of postgraduate students at NUI Galway the opportunity to explain to the general public what their research work was about and why it is relevant? As the audience was the general public it was necessary for the students to use simple terms and explanations, so that people with a non-science background would be able to understand.

Sandra Galvin, currently undertaking a PhD in the Department of Bacteriology gave a presentation concerning her research. Sandra is assessing the presence of antibiotic resistance bacteria and antibiotic residues in water. She forms part of WorkPackage 3 of "Enhancing human health through improved water quality". Having won the competition in Galway, Sandra will now represent NUI Galway at the national competition of "Science Speak" which will be held this Spring in the RDS, Dublin.

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16/03/06 - Launch of the EHHTIWQ Project

Having been awarded the EPA ERTDI grant of €1.1 million in February 2006, the EPA hosted the official launch of the project on the 16th March 2006. The event was held in the Environmental Change Institute, NUI Galway, which is the lead organisation involved in the project.

Representatives of the EPA attended including Dr. Pádraic Larkin, Deputy Director General of the EPA. He emphasised the importance of the project by saying "This is a key research project for the EPA which brings together a diverse group of leading researchers from environmental and health sciences to work on this critical issue for Ireland. I look forward to the results of this project being utilised in the future to deliver the highest possible quality of water in Ireland."

Professor Emer Colleran, Director of the Environmental Change Institute, NUI Galway said "The ECI is delighted with its success in attracting this significant research funding from the EPA who recognise the benefit of bringing together experts in the fields of environmental and health research. Protection of our water bodies and provision of water supplies require a multidisciplinary research approach. The project will link together researchers from different disciplines in a unique project focused on the improvement of water quality in Ireland."

Professor Martin Cormican, Head of the Department of Bacteriology, Medical Faculty, NUI Galway and Principle Investigator for the project, explained the study represents a major opportunity to improve our understanding of the link between our use, and sometimes misuse of water and our health. He explained "We depend on water in our homes, in industry and in farming to clean and flush away waste which may end up in our environment. On the other hand, to live long and to live well, we need to draw from that same environment water that is clean and safe to drink. If we want to do both of these things with water, we need to put in place systems to make sure that we do not drink tomorrow what we flush away today."

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