Donna McCann
PhD Candidate
“AMR isn’t just about pathogens — it’s about what’s happening in our environment.”
Donna McCann is a PhD candidate at Curtin University, whose research aims to shine a light on how antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) move through wastewater systems and into the environment, and what that might mean for long-term public and environmental health.
Donna’s project is firmly grounded in a One Health approach, tracking antimicrobial residues and resistance genes across wastewater treatment plants and the environments they discharge into. She is also investigating how these compounds transform along the way, helping to answer a critical question: what actually persists after treatment, and where does it end up?
Donna was drawn to SAAFE CRC for its strong focus on collaboration and real-world impact, and the opportunity this affords her to develop career and research skills in parallel. Working alongside researchers and industry partners, she is part of a national effort to better understand and respond to AMR across environmental systems.
A typical day sees her balancing literature reviews with hands-on lab work, currently focused on refining methods to detect trace levels of antibiotics in complex environmental samples. It’s detailed, methodical work, essential for building reliable data.
Donna is passionate about raising awareness that antimicrobial resistance extends far beyond clinical settings. “It’s not just about disease-causing bacteria,” she explains. “Environmental microbes can carry and share resistance too, which is why monitoring our water systems is so important.”
Outside the lab, Donna volunteers with Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, caring for injured and displaced native animals. Inspired by environmental trailblazer Rachel Carson, she’s motivated by the role science can play in shaping awareness and protecting ecosystems.
With a background in analytical chemistry and experience in both industry and academia, Donna brings a strong technical foundation and a practical, solutions-focused mindset to her work, underpinned by a simple philosophy: Learning through doing is better than waiting for perfection.
