Penny PG Galbraith
Penelope is a multidisciplinary early career scientist with interests across microbial ecology, public health microbiology, environmental science, environmental engineering and integrated water management (IWM). After completing a BSc Honours degree (Dept. Microbiology, Monash University) and working as a research assistant (Dept. Civil Engineering, Monash University), she undertook a PhD investigating the influence of vegetation and the native soil microbiome on faecal microbe inactivation in stormwater biofilters (Dept. Civil Engineering, Monash University). Most recently, Penelope commenced a postdoctoral research fellowship at CSIRO within the Microbiomes for One System Health platform. This team is developing novel understanding around microbial connectivity across the environment-to-human continuum, with the goal of designing bio-based solutions for improving ecological and human health. Within this team, Penelope’s work investigates: (1) how environmentally-derived microbiomes (e.g. from irrigation water) influence the fresh produce microbiome; and (2) how these communities survive subsequent human digestion. Ultimately, her work aims to enhance understanding around fresh produce microbiome dynamics and how they may be manipulated to reduce spoilage, enhance food safety and consumer health outcomes.
Abstracts this author is presenting: