Sub-Theme Leader: Prof. Martin Cormican

The flow of water into, through and out of our bodies is indispensable to life.  As it flows it can carry along with it chemicals and organisms that have a profound impact, both positive and negative on our health. Much of the health gain of human populations in the twentieth century was achieved by improved management of sanitation and water supply. Ireland has a relatively abundant supply of fresh water and standards of sanitation and access to potable water are generally good however there is room for improvement both in terms of protection of water sources from contamination and in ensuring safe drinking water for all, particularly in rural areas. Worldwide “2.5 billion people remain without improved sanitation facilities, 900 million people still rely on unimproved drinking-water supplies” and that “diarrhoeal disease is the third leading cause of death from infectious diseases”. NUI Galway has attracted significant funding for research in the area of water quality and health and has significant capacity to continue to contribute to this area in the future.

People

Dr. Florence Abram Microbiology Phone: (091) 492390; Email: florence.abram@nuigalway.ie ——— Dr Florence Abram is the director of the Functional Environmental Microbiology laboratory, which focuses primarily on microbial adaptation to ecological niches. Her expertise lies in the application of proteomics and metaproteomics to investigate microbial behaviour within their natural ecosystem.