The unique and fascinating world of microorganisms is an incredibly diverse and important area of scientific research. Raissa Gill from the Climate Change Cluster (C3) and Dr Veronica Jarocki from the Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection (AIMI) are two researchers from UTS Science who spend their time looking through a microscope and investigating microorganisms. For International Microorganism Day, Raissa and Veronica share their UTS Science journeys and tell us more about their research with microorganisms.
Raissa Gill
PhD Candidate, Climate Change Cluster (C3), UTS Science
In 2018, I completed a Bachelor of Environmental Science at UTS. I went on to do honours in 2019 with Professor Martina Doblin from the Climate Change Cluster (C3) where I investigated the impact of temperature predictability on a globally distributed marine diatom. In 2020 I started my PhD with Professor Doblin and Associate Professor Fraser Torpy. I'm currently in my third (and final year) of study.
How did your undergraduate studies in science prepare you for a career in research?
My undergraduate studies gave me the necessary knowledge and experience to determine which field of science sparked my curiosity and to develop a good foundation for understanding and examining microscopic organisms. I was fortunate to undertake a volunteer position and research internship with Professor Doblin during my undergraduate which gave me my first taste of working in a scientific research environment. It also gave me great exposure and practical experience which solidified my choice to pursue a research career.
What are you currently resarching?
The topic of my research is microbial ecology. My current research aims to understand the impact of the 2019-20 Black Summer wildfires on the microbial ecology of estuaries in NSW, Australia. The project involves collecting and characterising particulate matter emitted during the Black Summer wildfires, sampling natural microbial communities from estuaries on the NSW South Coast, and simulating its impact in the laboratory using particle additions.
Why is this an important area of research?
Australia is a fire-prone continent, yet the impact of wildfires on the microbial ecology of estuaries remains poorly understood, despite their environmental, economic, and social significance. Given that severe wildfires similar to the recent 2019-20 season are only expected to increase with climate change, this area of research is important to assess and manage the impact of these atmospheric events on Australia’s coastal waters.
Why have you chosen this area of research?
Microbes are fundamental to the health and utility of estuaries, and I was intrigued by the interaction between such a large atmospheric event like a wildfire and how it could shift the microbial ecology of our coastal environments. This area of research is poorly understood, with several research papers on the topic only being published in the last two years. It is a very exciting field to be working in.
What are some of the challenges in this area of research?
The greatest challenge in this area of research is sampling an estuary during a major wildfire. The most impacted catchments tend to be highly burned and inaccessible, so observations can only be made before and after an event. Due to the relative infrequency of large-scale wildfires and the impromptu nature of them, it can also be difficult to anticipate when and where a before sample is needed. One way to get around this problem is to simulate these events experimentally, where the challenge becomes collecting enough material to work with. You need to be flexible and opportunistic in this area of research to get the samples you need!
What do you think this area of research will look like in 10 years?
I believe the significance of research that focuses on the impacts of natural disasters like megafires on microbial ecology will only become more relevant and understood over the next decade. I hope to provide insight into the impacts of the most recent mega-fire (2019-20 Black Summer) to form a basis for understanding these impacts in Australia.
What are the next steps for you as a researcher?
My first step is to finish my PhD over the next year, then I’ll be applying for a post-doctoral research position in microbial ecology.
Dr Veronica Jarocki
Research Associate, Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection (AIMI), UTS Science
I first stepped onto the UTS campus back in 2003 and have since completed two undergraduate degrees - including a Bachelor of Biomedical Science with honours - a PhD, and am currently employed as a Research Associate at the Australian Institute of Microbiology and Infection (AIMI). I have watched UTS grow exponentially in size, scope, and academic prowess for almost twenty years and am chuffed to be a part of such an ambitious and innovative establishment.
How did your undergraduate studies in science prepare you for a career in research?
Completing my Honours really gave me a sense of what working in research would be like. You get a year to work on a project, putting into practice what you learned during undergrad as well as gaining loads of new skills. As an added bonus, I made many fond memories of the people also doing Honours at the same time, as together we celebrated many achievements and commiserated to odd setback or two.
What are you currently resarching?
I work in Distinguished Professor Steven Djordjevic’s One Health microbial genomic surveillance research group. I use whole genome sequencing to better understand the genetic determinants of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and virulence in bacteria. Using a suite of bioinformatic tools and pipelines I track the location and movement of AMR and pathogens between humans, animals, and the environment to get a better sense of AMR origins and transfer mechanisms.
Why is this an important area of research?
AMR is a big deal. It threatens modern medicine and global health because previously easy-to-treat infections can now become life-threatening if the responsible pathogen has developed resistance to multiple antibiotic classes, including those referred to as “last resort” drugs, like carbapenems. Global escalating rates of AMR present an urgent need for genomic surveillance to drive antibiotic stewardship, infection control measures, and inform the development of new drugs and vaccines.
Why have you chosen this area of research?
I did my PhD in a different area, in proteomics. I characterised proteins on the surface of a pig pathogen for potential use in a new vaccine against porcine pneumonia. However, during my PhD, I became acutely cognisant of the growing health and economic burden of AMR in the animal sector. Driven by this knowledge, I expressed an interest in genomics after completing my PhD and was shortly afterwards welcomed to the One Health microbial genomics surveillance group.
What are some of the challenges in this area of research?
The scientific community has developed dozens of databases and countless tools for cataloguing and identifying AMR genes. These vary in their content, quality and degree of validation, so determining which tool/database is best suited to answering your research question can be challenging.
What do you think this area of research will look like in 10 years?
The COVID19 pandemic has really brought genomic surveillance to the forefront (who would have thought that non-scientists would be talking about microbial variants in their day-to-day lives?). The WHO just recently published its 10-year global genomic surveillance strategy, which calls for One Health integrated genomic surveillance programs linked at local, regional and global levels. I think this area is going to grow and change rapidly as global surveillance networks form.
What are the next steps for you as a researcher?
Grant writing! As an Early Career Researcher, the dream is to be awarded a competitive grant or fellowship to begin embarking on an independent research journey