Much of my research is at the interface of agriculture and the environment and focuses on a number of sustainability and disease-related topics. A central theme of my research is to understand how changes in agricultural practices and land-use, together with projected climate change, effect nutrient cycling & ecosystem functioning and increase the risk of exposure to pathogens. I have a strong research interests in Environmental Pathogen Ecology, and water & soil pollution caused by the carriage, survival & cycling of zoonotic pathogens and enteric diseases through agro-ecosystems and aquatic environments. Much of my work is carried out in the context of sustainable agriculture and food & water security and is underpinned by a significant level of engagement with the local community and a wide range of stakeholders.
For more information: http://rsquilliam.wordpress.com/research
Lecturer in Environmental Biology, University of Stirling
PhD – University of Sheffield, 2006
Alternative livelihoods for mangrove oyster fisherwomen in Sierra Leone (Darwin Initiative; PI Francis Murray)
Hydroscape: Connectivity x stressor interaction in freshwater habitats (NERC Highlight Topic; PI Nigel Willby) https://hydroscapeblog.wordpress.com/join-us/stirling/
‘ENTO-PRISE: Commercialising insect transformation of organic wastes to benefit farmers in Ghana’ (AgriTT Research Challenge Fund; PI Francis Murray; http://www.stir.ac.uk/ento-prise/)
AquaFly – Insects as natural feed ingredients for sustainable salmon farming (Research Council of Norway; PI Bente Torstensen, NIFES, Norway). http://nifes.no/flying-start-aquafly/
PRACTICAL Modelling – Pathogen Risks in Agricultural Catchments: Towards International Collaboration And Learning in Modelling (NERC International Opportunities Fund; PI David Oliver)
Cho KH, Pachepsky YA, Oliver DM, Muirhead RW, Park Y, Quilliam RS & Shelton D (2016). Modeling fate and transport of fecally-derived microorganisms at the watershed scale: state of the science and future opportunities. Water Research (accepted)
Keswani A, Oliver DM, Gutierrez T, Quilliam RS. (2016). Microbial hitchhikers on marine plastic debris: human exposure risks at bathing waters and beach environments. Marine Environmental Research 118, 10-19
Oliver DM, Hanley ND, van Niekerk M, Kay D, Heathwaite AL, et al. Quilliam RS. (2016). Molecular tools for bathing water assessment in Europe: balancing social science research with a rapidly developing environmental science evidence-base. Ambio 45, 52-62
Oliver DM, Porter KDH, Pachepsky YA, Muirhead RW, Reaney SM, et al. Quilliam RS. (2016). Predicting microbial water quality with models: overarching questions for managing risk in agricultural catchments. Science of the Total Environment 544, 39-47
Quilliam RS, Kinzelman J, Brunner J, Oliver DM (2015). Resolving conflicts in public health protection and ecosystem service provision at designated bathing waters. Journal of Environmental Management 161, 237–242
