Project title: Assessing the impact of different pollution sources on the type of microplastics, associated microbial communities, antimicrobial resistance, and transport of microplastics in selected urban rivers in South Africa (2022-2024).
Role: Principal Investigator
Funder: South African Water Research Commission
Responsibility:
ï Drafted the funding proposal.
ï Coordinated all research activities.
ï Supervised graduate students (one doctoral, one master's and one lab assistant) and researchers (1 post-doc) on the project.
ï Communication with stakeholders and writing of all project reports and publications.
Project tile: Advanced Molecular Methods for Detection and Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater and Sanitary Settings (2021-2022)
Role: Principal Researcher
Funder: South African Water Research Commission
Responsibility:
ï Drafted the funding proposal.
ï Coordinated all research activities.
ï Supervised graduate students (3) and researchers (2 post-docs and 1 laboratory technician) on the project.
ï Communication with stakeholders and writing of all project reports and publications.
ï Founding member of the South African Covid Collaborative Environmental Surveillance (SACCESS) Network: A nationwide COVID-19 WBE surveillance initiative.
Project title: Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Detection of COVID-19 in Wastewater (2020-2021)
Role: Principal Researcher
Funder: Umgeni Water (South Africa)
Responsibility:
ï Drafted the funding proposal.
ï Coordinated all research activities.
ï Supervised graduate students (3) and researchers (2 post-docs and 1 laboratory technician) on the project.
ï Communication with stakeholders and writing of all project reports and publications.
Project title: Antibiotic profile and distribution of antibiotic resistance associated with tuberculosis treatment regimens in African wastewater treatment plants (2019-2022)
Role: Researcher
Funder: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) & South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
Responsibility:
ï Drafting the funding application.
ï Responsible for establishment of collaboration with institutions in various African countries.
ï Supervision of wastewater sampling across Africa.
ï Contribution to report and publication writing
ï Advisory support to graduate students enrolled on the project.
Project title: Microplastics and nanoplastics as carriers of antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments (2019-2022)
Role: Principal researcher and Country Program Coordinator (South Africa)
Funder: Joint Program Initiative on Water Resources (JPI-WATER) - European Union and South African Water Resources Research Commission.
Responsibility:
ï Participated in securing funding from the agencies mentioned above.
ï Establishment of the research program in South Africa
ï Establishment of collaboration with relevant authorities in South Africa.
ï Responsible for reporting to the South African funding partner, as well as contribution to the international reporting to the JPI secretariat.
ï Supervision of graduate students (one masters and one doctoral) on the project.
ï Ensuring communication and collaboration with partners from Norway, Cyprus and Germany.
ï Steering committee member for the international project.
Project title: Assessing fecal pathogen contamination and risk exposure in community bathing areas (CABs): a case study of informal settlements within the municipality of eThekwini, South Africa (2019-2021)
Role: Researcher
Funder: South African Water Research Commission
Responsibility:
ï Drafting of the funding application.
ï Responsible for developing a risk assessment framework for shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements (slums).
ï Establishment of a community engagement program with support from local authorities and community leaders.
ï Advisory support to doctoral student enrolled on the project.
Project title: Development of rapid method for the detection of protozoan parasites in environmental samples
Role: Principal Investigator/Project Leader
Funder: South African-Sweden Universities Forum (SASUF)
Responsibility:
ï Responsible for securing research funds from SASUF
ï Design of the study and coordination of research activities in South Africa
ï Recruitment of student (One doctoral student) and supervision.
ï Reporting to all stakeholders
ï Organizing student and researcher exchange between South Africa and Sweden
Project title: Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance Through African Sewage Analysis (2018-2019)
Role: Principal Investigator/Project Leader
Funder: Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe), University of Gothenburg.
Responsibility:
ï Principal Investigator leading the project, which involves establishing agreements with partner organizations from around 10 African countries, including South Africa.
ï Development of a wastewater sampling regime in these countries.
ï Visit these countries for sampling purposes and discussions on project outcomes.
ï Coordination with the University of Gothenburg for further sample analysis
ï Supervision of personnel (one graduate student and one research assistant) working on the project.
ï Preparing project reports to funding agencies and writing papers.
Project title: Development of a unified method for the detection and quantification of soil- transmitted helminths in environmental samples (2015-2018)
Role: Principal Researcher
Funder: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Responsibility:
ï Principal researcher tasked with developing a uniform method for the detection of soil- transmitted helminths in the environment.
ï Oversaw the establishment of the laboratory responsible for the project.
ï Recruitment and supervision of personnel to assist with the project (a lab assistant and administrative officer)
ï Training of BMGF partner laboratories in Senegal and India on the use of the developed method.
ï Reporting to BMGF on project outcomes and writing of papers for publication.
Project title: Combining decentralized wastewater treatment with agriculture (2015-2016)
Role: Researcher
Funder: South African Water Research Commission
Responsibility:
ï Responsible for developing a risks assessment framework associated with the reuse of wastewater for irrigation.
ï Preparation of report to the funding agency
ï Collaboration with location authorities in instituting training programs for wastewater reuse.
Project tile: Combined health risks associated with reuse of urban and peri- urban agricultural wastewater in Kumasi, Ghana (2012-2013)
Role: Researcher (Microbiologist)
Funder: Norwegian Research Council.
Responsibility:
ï Microbiologist responsible for all laboratory analysis.
ï Supervision of project assistants (2 field assistants and one lab assistant).
ï Establishment of connection with local farmers using wastewater for irrigation.
ï Participation in the study design, particularly for wastewater, vegetable and stool sampling from farmers
ï Contribution towards the writing of reports and papers based on the project.