MSc. Klara Skodakova

Monitoring the entry of antibiotic resistance genes into the environment through wastewater and sewage sludge

Motivation

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a major global health problem. Excessive consumption of antibiotics leads to the selection of resistant bacteria and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). Bacteria carrying resistance genes travel in wastewater to a wastewater treatment plant, where a significant elimination of pathogens occurs. However, ARGs can further enter the environment through effluent from WWTPs or sludge applied to agricultural land. Sludge used as a fertilizer can pose a potential health risk to humans without adequate treatment.

Solution

In this Ph.D. topic, the main focus goes on the efficient removal of ARG from WWTPs. Especially from the sludge. Moreover, it has been investigated that many methods like mesophilic, thermophilic anaerobic digestion, or pasteurization may partly remove ARG. Those methods will be tested on full-scale and pilot- scale.

Another area of interest/Projects:

• ARGtech project
• Second place in a scientific student conference, VŠCHT, section: Water technology, 2019
• Internship in UOCHB-my bachelor thesis, 2018
• Internship in Sweden, Uppsala, pharmaceutical company Recipharm, project: Improving poorly water-soluble compound (drug) by adding different surfactants and optimizing their concentration, 2017
• Exchange program in VŠFS (Vysoká škola finanční a správní), attending basic courses of marketing, business, and economics, 2016

Education:

• 2020 - present: UCT Prague, FTOP, Department of Water technology and environmental engineering, Ph.D. Student
• 2018-2020 UCT Prague, FTOP, Analytical chemistry of the environment, diploma thesis: „Influence of chlorination and pasteurization on the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes in hospital wastewater treatment plant´s outputs “
• 2014-2018 HZ University of Applied Sciences, Chemistry, bachelor thesis: “Tuning the optical and electrochemical properties of S- and N- containing porous polymers via rapid and reverse acid-base response “.

Participation in teaching:

• Laboratory Course in Water Analysis (UCT Prague) for Czech and English-speaking students
• Laboratory Courses in Hydrobiology and Microbiology (UCT Prague)

Publications:

Papers:

• Zdenkova, K., J. Bartackova, E. Cermakova, K. Demnerova, A. Dostalkova, V. Janda, J. Jarkovsky, M. A. Lopez Marin, Z. Novakova, M. Rumlova, J. R. Ambrozova, K. Skodakova, I. Swierczkova, P. Sykora, D. Vejmelkova, J. Wanner and J. Bartacek (2022). "Monitoring COVID-19 spread in Prague local neighborhoods based on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater collected throughout the sewer network." Water Research 216: 118343.
• Kamila Zdenkova, Jana Bartackova, Eliska Cermakova, Katerina Demnerova, Alzbeta Dostalkova, Vaclav Janda, Zuzana Novakova, Michaela Rumlova, Jana Rihova Ambrozova, Klara Skodakova, Iva Swierczkova, Petr Sykora, Dana Vejmelkova, Jiri Wanner, Jan Bartacek (2021). "Monitoring COVID-19 spread in Prague local neighborhoods based on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater collected throughout the sewer network." medRxiv: 2021.2007.2028.21261272.
• Yaroslav S., Kochergin, Yu Noda, Ranjit Kulkarni, Klára Škodáková, Ján Tarábek Johannes Schmidt, Michael J. Bojdys, Sulfur- and Nitrogen-Containing Porous Donor-Acceptor Polymers as Real-Time Optical and Chemical Sensors, ChemRxiv, Macromolecules, 2019, 7696–7703, Celkem 7 autorů, ISSN: 0024-9297, Macromolecules

Presentations:

• Škodáková, K., Gajdoš, S., Karpíšek, I., Vejmelková, D. 2020: Detekce vybraných genů antibiotické rezistence v nemocničních odpadních vodách pomocí (q)PCR. Sbor. konf. Vodárenská biologie 2020 (116-120), Praha 5. – 6. únor 2020, Celkem 4 autoři, první autor, plný text978-80-88238-18-8