sandra galvin

Following the completion of my undergraduate degree in Microbiology from University College Cork, I commenced my PhD studies in the Discipline of Bacteriology, School of Medicine, NUI Galway. The main focus of my doctoral research was the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens that represent faecal contamination of water supplies namely Escherichia coli and Entercoccus spp.
In 2010, I joined the Department of Clinical Microbiology in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Beaumont Hospital, Dublin) to study the environmental spread of multiresistant nosocomial pathogens, such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, in the hospital environment. I was also involved in the development of a novel plasma based biodecontamination system for routine use in the clinical setting. 

Research Interests

• The development and spread of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens
• Antimicrobial prescribing practices in general practice and the use of antimicrobial drugs in the community
• Studying the spread of multiresistant bacterial pathogens in the hospital and community setting
• Controlling the spread and development of antimicrobial resistance by antimicrobial stewardship

Other interests

Teaching

Selected Publications

Galvin S, Moore J, Humphreys H, “Reply: An evaluation of chromogenic meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus media: sensitivity versus turnaround time”. Letter to the Editor. Journal of Hospital Infection, 2012; In press.

Galvin S, Boyle M, Russell RJ, Coleman DC, Creamer E, O'Gara JP, Fitzgerald-Hughes D, Humphreys H. “Evaluation of vaporized hydrogen peroxide, Citrox and pH neutral Ecasol for decontamination of an enclosed area: a pilot study” Journal of Hospital Infection 2012 Jan;80:67-70. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22130097 

Morris D, Galvin S, Boyle F, Hickey P, Mulligan M, Cormican M.“Enterococcus faecium of the vanA Genotype in Rural Drinking Water, Effluent, and the Aqueous Environment. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2012;78:596-8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22101039

 Creamer E, Galvin S, Dolan A, Sherlock O, Dimitrov BD, Fitzgerald-Hughes D, Thomas T, Walsh J, Moore J, Smyth EG, Shore AC, Sullivan D, Kinnevey P, O'Lorcain P, Cunney R, Coleman DC, Humphreys H. “Evaluation of screening risk and non-risk patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on admission in an acute care hospital” American  Journal of Infection Control. 2011;40(5);411-5 http://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(11)00968-0/abstract 

Galvin, S, Boyle, F., Hickey, P., Vellinga, A., Morris, D., Cormican, M. “Enumeration and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli in effluent from municipal, hospital and secondary treated sources” (2010) Applied and Environmental Microbiology. July (76) 14.  http://aem.asm.org/content/76/14/4772.full.pdf+html