“Antimicrobial resistance is not confined to hospitals or clinical settings – it is an environmental issue too. Resistance genes and organisms can persist and move through water, soil and animals, creating a network of transmission that connects ecosystems, animals and human communities.”

Dr Nijoy John is a SAAFE CRC Foundation Fellow at WEHI working on the project Comprehensive Monitoring of Antimicrobial Resistance in Australia’s Drinking, Waste and Recreational Waters. The project aims to identify, map and track the distribution and transmission of AMR genes using a combination of PCR-based diagnostics, selective culturing and advanced next-generation sequencing technologies.

Nijoy completed his PhD at The University of Melbourne, where his research focused on microbial ecology and the development of PCR-based diagnostic platforms for monitoring harmful algal blooms. His expertise lies in molecular microbiology and environmental monitoring, and he has worked extensively across Australia’s freshwater, wastewater and recycled water ecosystems, applying PCR, qPCR, metagenomics and CRISPR-based diagnostics to study microbial communities and inform public health and water industry practice.

At SAAFE CRC, Nijoy’s work seeks to enhance understanding of AMR dynamics across water systems and support the development of effective monitoring strategies. A typical day blends experimental design, laboratory work, data analysis and writing – developing and optimising molecular assays, analysing results, drafting manuscripts and reports, and meeting with collaborators, students and colleagues to plan and track new experiments.

Nijoy’s interest in antimicrobial resistance emerged during his PhD and postdoctoral research, where he observed clear intersections between microbial ecology and public health. Having worked on the ecology of harmful algal blooms, he became increasingly aware of the broader implications of microbial community shifts driven by human pressures – and saw in AMR both a scientific challenge and an opportunity to apply molecular tools to a globally significant problem. He was drawn to SAAFE’s One Health approach and its collaborative model bringing together researchers, industry and policy partners.

Outside of research, Nijoy is a big football fan who plays regularly with friends and colleagues, and he stays active with regular gym sessions. He also enjoys DJ-ing as a hobby, mixing tracks and experimenting with different sounds and genres at home – purely for fun, and a great way to switch gears from the lab.

Nijoy’s long-term goal is to generate the data and tools that help the water and public health sectors understand and respond to AMR risks – including standardised molecular protocols that improve consistency, cost-efficiency and comparability across monitoring programs, enabling risk-based decision-making that protects public, animal and environmental health.