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BY: RON COX

Environmental Engineering PhD student, Jacquie Thomas, has recently been awarded an American Australian Association Fellowship.

From left to right: Mr Malcolm Binks (Chairman for the American Australian Association); Prime Minister Mr Kevin Rudd; Mr Ruport Murdoch and Jacquie Thomas. (PHOTO CREDIT - Lisa Hogen Photography)

Ms Thomas was presented the award at the annual American Australian Association benefit dinner last month by the Prime Minister and Mr Rupert Murdoch. The fellowship will enable her to travel to the United States in June to undertake a portion of her doctoral research with Professor Nicholas Ashbolt, previous Head of School and now at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Ms Thomas is a UNSW microbiology graduate and her PhD research is contributing a significant piece of knowledge to our understanding of reuse water. Specifically, she is looking at the ability of the bacterial pathogen Legionella to grow in reuse water. Legionella infection causes pneumonia and accounts for 3-5% of all pneumonia admissions to hospital in Australia. In water systems Legionella growth is facilitated by the presence of common water microbes called amoebae. As reuse water is used more extensively it is essential that all the risks factors for the growth of Legionella and other disease causing micro-organisms are identified. Through identification and reduction of the risk factors the safety of reuse water can be assured.

Ms Thomas’s research has been undertaken as part of a collaboration with the UNSW Water Research Centre, Sydney Water Corporation and researchers at the United States Environmental Protection Agency.