Professional summary

Isobel is an Environmental Molecular Microbiologist at UKCEH. Her primary research interest is investigating the environmental dimension of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with a particular focus on water environments. She has worked on many aspects of this topic area, including developing surveillance strategies and programmes to investigate the effects of different pollution sources on antibiotic resistance in the environment with a particular interest in both treated and untreated wastewater, and investigating how the UK has responded to the environmental challenges on the UK 5-year AMR National Action Plan.

She is involved in projects investigating the selection of antibiotic resistance from low concentrations of chemicals in the environment, including antibiotics & other co-selecting compounds such as pharmaceuticals & personal care products and understanding transmission of environmental antibiotic resistance to humans resulting in a negative human health outcomes. Isobel also leads citizen science efforts to understand the drivers of antifungal resistance in homes, farms and composters in the UK.

Isobel has also been a member of the Welsh Government's Animal and Environment Antimicrobial Resistance Delivery Group since 2021. She was previously a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter.

Selected publications

Stanton Isobel C. et al. , (2022), Does environmental exposure to pharmaceutical and personal care product residues result in the selection of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, and is this important in terms of human health outcomes?. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.5498

Hayes April et al. , (2022), Predicting selection for antimicrobial resistance in UK wastewater and aquatic environments: ciprofloxacin poses a significant risk. Environment International, 169, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022004159

Hassard Francis et al. , (2023), Wastewater monitoring for detection of public health markers during the COVID-19 pandemic: near-source monitoring of schools in England over an academic year. PLoS ONE, 18, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286259

Castro-Gutierrez Victor et al. , (2022), Monitoring occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in school populations: a wastewater-based approach. PLoS ONE, 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270168

Other Publications

Stanton, I. C., et al. Existing evidence on antibiotic resistance exposure and transmission to humans from the environment: a systematic map. 2022. Environmental Evidence.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13750-022-00262-2

Stanton, I. C., et al. Evolution of antibiotic resistance at low antibiotic concentrations including selection below the minimal selective concentration. 2020. Communications Biology.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-01176-w

Murray, A. K., Stanton, I. C., et al. The ‘SELection End points in Communities of bacTeria’ (SELECT) Method: A Novel Experimental Assay to Facilitate Risk Assessment of Selection for Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment. 2020. Environmental Health Perspectives.

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP6635

Murray, A. K., Stanton, I. C., et al. Dawning of a new ERA: Environmental Risk Assessment of antibiotics and their potential to select for antimicrobial resistance. 2021. Water Research.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135421004310

Stanton, I. C., et al. What is the research evidence for antibiotic resistance exposure and transmission to humans from the environment? A systematic map protocol. 2020. Environmental Evidence.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13750-020-00197-6