The Bacterial Blood Pathogens Group reinforces its collaboration with LABAQUA through an Industrial PhD
The research, focused on the surveillance of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in hospital wastewater, is part of the European project LIFE GENESYS.
Hospital wastewater contains valuable information about pathogens, resistance genes, and contaminants circulating among patients, healthcare professionals, and the environment. This information can become a key tool for epidemiological surveillance and the anticipation of public health risks. Within this context, the PhD thesis titled "Plataforma Avanzada de Vigilancia Epidemiológica en Aguas Residuales Hospitalarias (HARE)" (Advanced Epidemiological Surveillance Platform in Hospital Wastewater) aims to develop new strategies to detect and monitor antimicrobial resistance in the hospital environment.
The thesis integrates disciplines such as metagenomics, epidemiology, water analysis, and environmental chemistry, combining the research capabilities of the Blood Bacterial Pathogens Group at IBB-I3PT with LABAQUA’s applied expertise in environmental solutions and water analysis.
The PhD project will be carried out thanks to a grant from the AEI Industrial PhD programme, recently awarded to LABAQUA with the participation of the Blood Bacterial Pathogens Group, to hire a predoctoral researcher. This grant is part of the European project LIFE GENESYS (2024), aimed at reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance in the water cycle.
The thesis will be conducted by Aina Jiménez, who holds a degree in Microbiology (UAB) and a Master’s degree in Advanced Microbiology (UB). The project also involves the Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT) and the Parc Taulí University Hospital, strengthening its multidisciplinary nature and the transfer of knowledge between clinical, academic, and environmental sectors.
The research will begin this October and will run for four years. During the first three years, the work will focus on data generation and integration, as well as evaluating treatments capable of reducing the load of pathogens and resistance genes. The final year will be dedicated to transferring the results and converting them into an operational tool for LABAQUA, aligned with the One Health approach and the new requirements of European regulations on hospital effluents.
This Industrial PhD thesis represents a new opportunity to strengthen the collaboration between the research group and LABAQUA, bridging academic research with industry needs and facilitating the transfer of results into practical applications for environmental health.