This past week marked an extremely important milestone in the career of one of the Water Institute’s rising stars.
PhD candidate Molly Williams has successfully defended her thesis on the development of a novel biosensor for eDNA detection. This biosensor makes use out of the bacterial CRISPR-Cas gene editing mechanism to allow for highly specific and sensitive monitoring of aquatic species. While Molly’s thesis looked specifically at the detection of Salmo Salar Atlantic Salmon, her work has already proved adaptive to a wide range of organisms, and has proved essential in current research projects.
No doubt Molly’s work will prove seminal, as institutions and governing bodies look to modernise water monitoring practices to allow for in-situ placement of sensors. In-situ biosensors employing molecular techniques is a rapidly developing field, one in which we’ve no doubt Molly will make a name for herself.
Of course passing the torch is at the heart of every PhD odyssey. Molly praises her co-supervisors Dr. Anne Parle-McDermott and Water Institute director Dr. Fiona Regan for their unwavering support and guidance over a long 4 years of hard work.
Congratulations Dr. Molly Williams!
To keep up to date with Dr. Williams and her work, please see below: