Environmental Analytical Microbiology integrates advanced sequencing, absolute quantification, and standardization to address microbial pollution and antibiotic resistance. This talk traces microbial ecology’s evolution from microscopy to metagenomics, highlighting innovations like cellular internal standards for cross-study comparisons. Case studies demonstrate applications in wastewater treatment, anaerobic digestion, and microbial risk assessment, emphasizing quantification of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The global resistome analysis reveals anthropogenic impacts on ARG distribution, while frameworks prioritize high-risk genes. Future efforts focus on the Environment–Microbiome–Health axis, advocating for microbiome-informed urban design to enhance public health. By merging cutting-edge technologies with interdisciplinary collaboration, this field aims to mitigate environmental risks and promote sustainable co-evolution with microbial ecosystems.
Professor Tong Zhang is a Chair Professor of Environmental Engineering in Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). He is also a Professor by Courtesy in School of Public Health of HKU. His researches include wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), antibiotic and antibiotic resistance genes, environmental microbiome engineering and biotechnology, anaerobic digestion and bioenergy from wastes/wastewater, biological wastewater treatment, etc. He has been listed as “Highly Cited Researcher” by Clarivate in 2018 (Cross Field), 2019 (Environment and Ecology), both 2020 and 2021 (Environment and Ecology; Microbiology), and 2022 (Microbiology).
Clean water and clean air are vital for public health. This project focuses on developing high-efficiency and environmentally sustainable filters for removing harmful air/water pollutants. The team has developed novel architectures and functionalities for the filters to achieve high permeance, high removal efficiency, and excellent reusability.
