The Biosafety, Air and Water Microbiology group is an applied research group with a particular focus on infection prevention and control measures to mitigate the impact of human pathogens. A key aim of the group is to provide evidence-based recommendations to prevent the spread of infections both proactively and to assist public health responses. Within the Biosafety, Air and Water Microbiology group, the Environmental Virology Team (EVT) develops methods for the environmental detection of pathogenic viruses such as mpox virus, SARS-CoV-2, and Lassa viruses to inform public health measures when cases are identified.

The post holder will lead a team of researchers advancing our abilities to detect and characterise pathogenic human viruses in the environment including assessment of virus survival, aerobiology, and remediation.

The postholder will carry out research to better understand the survival and transmission risk of viruses in the environment (e.g. domestic, healthcare, and workplace locations). There will be particular focus on the recovery of viruses from surfaces and in the air using virological techniques to enumerate viable virus present.