Rande studies biofilms from hospital wastewaters, striving to provide a holistic view on antibiotic resistance in HWW biofilms. By targeting 96 resistant genes and markers using Resistomap ht qPCR, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing for community composition as well as cultivating ESKAPEE: a group of bacteria known to cause resistant nosocomial infections. As biofilms can protect bacteria and other microbes from harsh environments, wastewater biofilms have the potential to allow for genetic exchange and longer survival of microbes, causing a serious risk to both humans and animals if they are released into the environment.
About the Speaker
Rande completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s in Molecular Biology in Kurdistan, Iraq. After moving to Wales, she joined the Wastewater Research Centre Wales at Bangor University as a research technician. She is now a second year PhD student within the same team, supervised by Prof Davey Jones. Rande is studying antibiotic resistance in wastewater biofilms within healthcare settings within Wales.