New professor an expert in freshwater microbiology

Faculty of Science
The University of Auckland

23 March 2011

Dr Gillian Lewis has been promoted to professor at The University of Auckland. Promotion to professor is a mark of distinction, recognising professional and academic eminence at an international level. Professor Lewis also was recently appointed acting director of the School of Biological Sciences.

Professor Lewis leads the microbiology research group in the School of Biological Sciences. Her work focuses on applied freshwater ecology, in particular the microbiology and restoration of degraded water bodies. She is also well known as a commentator on water quality issues.

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She studies natural and contaminating microorganisms in water, such as human viruses that find their way into water and shellfish, how certain microorganisms can be used as indicators of the human health risk of water sources, and how microbes can be used to reduce contamination in the natural environment.

“Microbial communities – both the good and the ‘bad’ are hugely important to how aquatic ecosystems work and how we can use and protect them,” says Professor Lewis. “Without understanding the microbes, you can’t understand an ecosystem”

Over the last ten years she has focused in particular on stream biofilms - sheets of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms that stick to each other and to surfaces in the environment. Her work involves learning more about the makeup of these complex communities, how the species interact, and how they may be used as indicators of the health of streams.

Professor Lewis attended Menzies College in Southland, where she was Dux of the school, and earned her undergraduate degree and PhD at the University of Otago. She has held academic appointments at the University of Otago, The University of Auckland, and Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, as well as working as a visiting lecturer at the University of North Carolina and an environmental scientist at URS New Zealand Limited.

She has provided advice on water quality to government agencies such as the Ministries of Health and Ministry for the Environment. Among her many roles with professional bodies she is a former president and vice-president of the New Zealand Microbiological Society and a mentor in the Women in Science leadership programme.

ENDS

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