RED-ALERT RESEARCH Issue 4 Autumn 2025
News from the NERC Centre for Doctoral Training in Real-Time Digital Water-Based Systems
CONTENTS 01
Welcome to Autumn Issue 4
02
Red-ALERT Spotlights
03
Introduction to Cohort 2
04
Student News
06
CDT News
06
Student publications
*** Please send your updates for the Winter 2025 issue
A message from our Newsletter Editors … Over this autumn period the CDT has welcomed the second Cohort of Red-ALERT students, connecting them with Cohort 1 through an induction day in Bath and a training week in Exeter. These events have allowed connections to grow, experiences to be shared, and a supportive research community to strengthen across both year groups. As we look ahead to the coming months, we are excited to follow the progress of our students and continue showcasing their developments. We hope you enjoy this issue of Red-ALERT Research and look forward to sharing more updates in the next edition. Best wishes, Eleanor Kirk, Sian Davies, James Milton and Rosie Elliott
SCAN ME
Email Website Bluesky
Catch up with all issues of “Red-ALERT Research” online
1
Thank you to Phil Reay Photography accredited for our newsletter cover imagery
Red-ALERT Spotlights Executive Board Member
Cohort 1 Student
Professor Eduarda Santos
Erica Boston
(Director of Research and Impact, Biosciences, University of Exeter)
(Red-ALERT Cohort 1 Student, Biosciences, University of Exeter)
What inspires you? I’m inspired by big questions. As I progressed, I realised the importance of making sure our science contributes, even if it is just in a small way, to the big challenges out there that affect humanity. I’m also really inspired by people, by seeing ECRs being really focused on doing fantastic science. Those are the two aspects I find really inspiring in science.
What inspires you? Working with other people, being able to interact with people who focus on something similar but from a different angle. I find that very inspiring to learn about different techniques that they’re using and how they can fit into my research. People are very supportive and collaborative and have their hearts in a place where they’re doing their research because there’s a problem that needs fixing and that’s really inspiring, as everyone is here for the same reason in environmental science.
What moments stand out in your career? Getting my PhD, was incredibly meaningful, and it made me appreciate the value of PhDs for other students. I try not to become blasé, and to appreciate what doing a PhD means to individuals. Probably the biggest moment in my career was having my first PhD student graduate, that was really special. Other big moments sometimes are actually the smallest of successes, when I see a student who had a difficult journey but made it. Knowing their journey and seeing them cross the stage during graduation makes me really proud of them.
A message for new researchers? Do science that you are passionate about. Keep your ethical principles at the front of how you think, and what you choose to do, and do not compromise what you believe in to gain fame and fortune. Be collaborative, because collaboration is the fertile ground where the best research, and the best inspiration and ability to address the big questions comes from.
What attracted you to your PhD? I think, because at the point of deciding to do a PhD I had worked in water quality research previously, and I’d made the decision that that’s where I wanted to have a career. I focused on freshwater health because it's a good issue to tackle and its very relevant and current, and almost at the perfect time PhDs on freshwater health came up, well-focused as a cohort and a training program on exactly what I wanted to become good at, which Is freshwater policy in the UK. What are you most excited about? I get very excited about fieldwork. Being outside in the natural world and actually seeing all the things that we study in real life is really cool. You also just get to go places you usually don’t get to go. Being waist-deep in a river, for me is always a happy place.
2
Associated with Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd
An Introduction to Cohort 2 Chloe Hawthorn - hawthornCJ@cardiff.ac.uk Project: Otters versus gadgets: how does passive sampling compare with sentinel species monitoring for evaluation of freshwater pollution? Supervisors: Dr Liz Chadwick, Dr Frank Hailer (Cardiff), Dr Gloria Pereira (UKCEH) Elizabeth Witcombe - WitcombeEF1@cardiff.ac.uk Project: Linking the changing chemical environment to biological recovery across formerly industrial rivers. Supervisors: Dr Ian Vaughan, Prof. Steve Ormerod (Cardiff), Dr Vickey Bell, Dr Steve Lofts (UKCEH)
Associated with University of Bath
Prapti Chakraborty - pc2069@bath.ac.uk Project: Detection of pathogens in rivers with a smart multimodal sensor array module integrated in an autonomous robot platform. Supervisors: Prof. Mirella Di Lorenzo, Dr Uriel Martinez Hernandez, Prof. Alan Hunter, Prof. Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern (Bath), Prof. Rupert Perkins (Cardiff) Geraint Pugh - glp37@bath.ac.uk Project: Source attribution and early warning of water-borne pathogens using hybrid-capture sequencing. Supervisors: Prof. Edward Feil, Prof. Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern (Bath), Prof. William Gaze (Exeter)
Sogol Forghani - sf2123@bath.ac.uk Project: A generic low-cost lab-on-chip platform for detection of eDNA strands. Supervisors: Prof. Pedro Estrela (Bath), Dr Niklaas Buurma (Cardiff)
Associated with University of Exeter
Rose Elliott - roe21@bath.ac.uk, roseelliott@ceh.ac.uk Project: Microbial Source Tracking for Antimicrobial Resistance and Pathogens in Aquatic Ecosystems. Supervisors: Holly Tipper (UKCEH), Susheel Bhanu Busi (UKCEH), Prof. Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern (Bath), Megan Robertson (Wessex Water) James Milton - jm1684@exeter.ac.uk Project: Do pollutants from wastewaters accumulating in aquatic invertebrates affect the breeding success of insectivorous birds? Supervisors: Prof. Charles Tyler (Exeter), Dr Dan Read (UKCEH), Prof. Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern (Bath), Dr Julie Bremner (CEFAS) Ioana Alexa - ia419@exeter.ac.uk Project: Investigating the biological and chemical factors that contribute to the emergence of pathogenic Vibrio species. Supervisors: Sariqa Wagley (Exeter), Prof. Shelagh Malham, Dr Kata Farkas (Bangor), Andy Powell (CEFAS) Charlotte Moreira - cm1296@exeter.ac.uk Project: Understanding the consequences of environmentally relevant chemical mixtures to freshwater invertebrates: a holobiome approach. Supervisors: Prof. Eduarda Santos, Prof Charles Tyler, Dr Anke Lange (Exeter), Prof. David Bass (CEFAS), Dr Jonathan Newman (Environment Agency), Dr Tamsyn Uren Webster (Swansea)
Associated with Bangor University / Prifysgol Bangor
Nathan Strathdee - ns812@exeter.ac.uk Project: Does Large Wood in River Restoration Improve Water Quality and Ecological Health? Supervisors: Dr Diego Pancici, Dr Garry Codling (Exeter), Dr Ian Vaughan (Cardiff)
3
Patrizio Feliziani - ptf25ckx@bangor.ac.uk Project: Salmon Disease Omics (SalDiOmics) - Developing a novel genomic toolkit to understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of freshwater salmonid disease. Supervisors: Prof. Simon Creer (Bangor) Christopher Sanders - afu87d@bangor.ac.uk Project: Mobile genetic elements landscape in planktonic and sedimental microbiomes of Conwy catchment. Supervisors: Prof. Olga Golyshina
Sharandeep Singh - kvs25dtr@bangor.ac.uk Project: Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Antimicrobial Resistant Organisms in Freshwater Ecosystems. Supervisors: Prof. Davey Jones, Dr Reshma Silvester (Bangor), Dr Andrew Singer (UKCEH)
2
Student News Chloe Hawthorn, (1st year PhD at Cardiff University) on presenting a talk at the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) Eurasian Otter Conservation Workshop From 18th-19th November I attended the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) Eurasian Otter Conservation Conference at Colchester Zoo. I presented a case-study of the National Otter Survey of Wales, which has been conducted roughly every seven years since the 1970's. Through the surveys we've seen an expansion in the population from only 20% of sites having otter signs in 1978, to 90% in 2010. The conference was a great opportunity to meet other otter conservationists, and to highlight the importance of continued monitoring of this sentinel species for environmental health.
Rosie Elliott, (1st year PhD at UKCEH & University of Bath) on attending the UKCEH postgraduate showcase In October, I took part in the annual UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology postgraduate showcase, where I presented a poster on my Master's work from the University of Bath, in collaboration with UKCEH, on assessing the fate and mobility of antimicrobial resistance genes in wastewater treatment systems. This was a fantastic opportunity to share my current work with fellow students and learn more about their work too.
Maya Lhoste, (2nd year PhD at Cardiff University) on Autumn fieldwork and presenting at the Ely Catchment Partnership meeting In September, I collected the first round of eDNA samples from the River Ely for my PhD project, assisted by fellow Cardiff University Red-ALERT student Sian Davies. We sampled at 10 locations along the River Ely, up and downstream of potential sources of pollution, including the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Maendy quarry and a wastewater treatment plant. I also sampled at one site in Cardiff Bay, assisted by the Cardiff Harbour Authority. This was the first round of sampling for my project, with further sampling rounds to be conducted seasonally over the course of the next year with the aim to assess spatio-temporal variations of biodiversity in the River Ely in relation to anthropogenic pollution. In November, I presented my project at the Ely Partnership Catchment meeting. It was challenging to explain my research to people without a genetics background, but it allowed me to improve my communication skills. I had to explain the basic concepts underpinning my research in a way not usually required when presenting to a specialist audience. Image 1 sourced by Chloe Hawthorn, image 2 sourced by Rosie Elliott, and image 3 accredited to Sian Davies
4
Time spent during Red-ALERT training at the University of Exeter, (11 - 14/11/2025) It was great to meet the new cohort and begin getting to know them. I particularly enjoyed visiting the Beaver Restoration Project, seeing evidence of beaver activity and hearing about the ongoing research. - Adam Winrow Cohorts 1 and 2 recently completed the ‘Public Health: Water Omics & Ecotoxicology Tools’, training week at the University of Exeter. This featured facility tours, field visits, and interactive workshops. Students enhanced communication and collaboration skills through presentations on an Environmental Challenge, alongside lectures and panels providing networking opportunities and career insights. Thank you to everyone who helped deliver this fantastic training week! I appreciated the opportunity to cross paths with specialists from different areas, all of them full of passion for their work, it inspired me a lot! - Patrizio Feliziani As a second-year PhD student, it's important to start thinking about life beyond the PhD, so, the individual expert talks were a real highlight for me. I found the panel discussion valuable, as it gave different perspectives on the wide range career paths available. - Joseph Beaney It was an amazing opportunity to learn about other people in the CDT, the facilities available to us, and other career paths after a PhD. - Ioana Alexa Seeing the researchers’ enthusiasm for their work and the genuine passion they hold for advancing their fields was incredibly encouraging. It reminded me of the value of curiosity-driven research and the importance of building a career around something meaningful. - Yanting Zhang
5
Image 1 accredited to Anke Lange, image 2, 3 and 4 to Eleanor Kirk
I gained a great deal from the training course. I appreciated the daily focus on a different RedALERT discipline, from a chemistry-focussed day exploring mass spectrometry methods to a conservation-focussed day learning about beaver reintroductions in the southwest and visiting a created saltmarsh habitat in Budleigh Salterton. It is many conservationists’ dream to be involved in a habitat-creation project, so seeing a real-life example was particularly inspiring. - James Milton
Centre for Doctoral Training News Bath Induction Day - 10th November The Bath Training Day marked the first in-person introduction for both cohorts, bringing students together for a day of presentations, discussions, and networking. The event offered an opportunity to gain insight into the wide range of research taking place across partner institutions.
Red-ALERT Cohort 3 Projects Advertised We are excited to highlight the advertisement of projects for the third and final cohort of RedALERT PhD students. Please keep an eye on the deadline of Friday 16th January, and we look forward to hearing mid next year which students will be joining the CDT with projects beginning in September 2026. In total, 31 projects have been advertised across our partner Higher Education Institutes and Industries. University of Bath – eight projects focused on innovative sensing, imaging, and modelling approaches for analysing chemical pollutants and emerging contaminants. Bangor University – four projects developing innovative and predictive tools and methodologies to detect and track emerging pollutants and water-quality risks. Cardiff University – ten projects focused on improved detection, monitoring, and a variety of assessment methods for pathogens, pollutants, and environmental risks in freshwater systems. University of Exeter – nine projects investigating pollutant impacts, ecological resilience, and improved monitoring approaches for chemical, microbial, and emerging contaminants.
Bangor training event – 19th-23rd January 2026 The final institute training course for Cohort 1, ‘One Health Models’, will be hosted by Professor Davey Jones and Professor Dave Chadwick at Bangor University, focusing on integrated modelling of environmental and human health with applications to antimicrobial resistance and pollution.
Annual Red-ALERT conference updates - 2026 Planning has started for the annual Red-ALERT conference for 2026. Which will include talks and posters presented from both our cohort 1 and 2 students. This will be in conjunction with the Centre for wastewater epidemiology CWBE annual conference as a joint event. Dates will be confirmed within the next ‘Winter’ issue of this newsletter, along with updates on activities scheduled for the event.
Student Publications Resilience and vulnerability of the stonefly Nemoura cinerea to increased temperature and drought Becker, E., Vonk, J.A., Verdonschot, R.C., Klaasen, J., Moreira, C.J.C., Verdonschot, P.F., Kraak, M.H., 2025, In: Aquatic Sciences, 87, 103
6