Dr Halina Vaughan

Biography	I am a lecturer in Environmental Microbiology at Edinburgh Napier University (U.K.). My PhD focused on the development of a novel forced upflow bioreactor to treat landfill leachate and was carried out under the supervision of Professor Mike Wallis and Professor Mark Laing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. In 2008, I moved to Scotland to take up a position as a teaching fellow in Microbiology at the University of Strathclyde. In 2011, I became a lecturer in Microbiology at Nottingham Trent University and contributed to a project investigating the role of ftsZ gene in cell division of E. coli. I obtained a lectureship at Edinburgh Napier University in July 2013, and am currently working on the isolation, characterisation and optimisation of biosurfactant-producing actinomycetes.
Research Interests	I have an interest in microbiological communities in the environment, their impact on environmental quality and their biotechnological applications. Current research includes the isolation and characterisation of microorganisms of potential industrial value from a variety of natural and anthropogenic habitats with a focus on those that produce antimicrobial compounds and biosurfactants. Other work explores antibiotics as pollutants and examines the development of antibiotic resistant microbial populations in the non-clinical environment. I also have experience in biological wastewater treatment including the design, optimisation and operation of bioreactors for remediation of highly contaminated effluents such as landfill leachate. Keywords: Wastewater/sludge treatment; Bioprospecting

Biography

I am a lecturer in Environmental Microbiology at Edinburgh Napier University (U.K.).

My PhD focused on the development of a novel forced upflow bioreactor to treat landfill leachate and was carried out under the supervision of Professor Mike Wallis and Professor Mark Laing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

In 2008, I moved to Scotland to take up a position as a teaching fellow in Microbiology at the University of Strathclyde. In 2011, I became a lecturer in Microbiology at Nottingham Trent University and contributed to a project investigating the role of ftsZ gene in cell division of E. coli. I obtained a lectureship at Edinburgh Napier University in July 2013, and am currently working on the isolation, characterisation and optimisation of biosurfactant-producing actinomycetes.

Research Interests

I have an interest in microbiological communities in the environment, their impact on environmental quality and their biotechnological applications. Current research includes the isolation and characterisation of microorganisms of potential industrial value from a variety of natural and anthropogenic habitats with a focus on those that produce antimicrobial compounds and biosurfactants. Other work explores antibiotics as pollutants and examines the development of antibiotic resistant microbial populations in the non-clinical environment. I also have experience in biological wastewater treatment including the design, optimisation and operation of bioreactors for remediation of highly contaminated effluents such as landfill leachate.

Keywords: Wastewater/sludge treatment; Bioprospecting