About CREM

The investigations at CREM aim to understand better:

how human pathogens get into and survive in the environment
what environmental factors affect their survival and transport and the potential for human exposure
how the spread of infections can be interrupted through application of environmental control measures to water, air, food, wastes, fomites (articles of common use), medical devices as well as animate and inanimate surfaces

A MORE DETAILED PROSPECTUS OF INTERESTS FOLLOWS BUT OUR BROCHURE CONTAINING ALL PERTINENT DETAILS MAY BE DOWNLOADED AS A PDF CLICK HERE

Research and policy interests of CREM:

treatment and disinfection of water for drinking [new models for water disinfection; comparative disinfection kinetics; low cost and practical solutions for field use; point-of-use devices; appropriate technologies for developing countries]
microbiological quality of potable and recreational waters [microbial fate and transport; rapid methods for detection of pathogens; microbial indicators of water quality; sources of contamination; effects of stressors and competiti on on the survival of microbial pathogens in water; microbial biofilms and their control; novel methods for chronic toxicity tests in aquatic environments]
survival and inactivation of foodborne pathogens [pathogen survival with emphasis on fruit, vegetables and dairy products; decontamination in processing facilities; rapid methods for detection; safety of food preservation and presentation techniques, including modified atmosphere packaging; irradiation of foods to inactivate pathogens; guidelines for preventing spread of foodborne infections]
survival and transport of pathogens and microbial indicators in wastewaters and soils [ground water contamination; efficiency of treatment of point source (sewage) and non-point source (storm water) pollution; application of biosolids to lands]
role of air in spread of infections [the role of climatic conditions on the survival of microorganisms in aerosols to explain seasonality of disease outbreaks; comparative survival of different pathogens to assess potential for air borne spread; air quality and sampling; air decontamination]
application of molecular methods to the field of environmental microbiology [rapid methods for the isolation, identification and enumeration of viable microorganisms from environmental samples including slow growing organisms such as mycobacteria]
handwashing and its role in preventing infections/interrupting transmission [compliance, protocols, products, prevention of microbial transfer to and from hands; in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo model systems for testing antiseptics]
disinfection & sterilization in health-care [safe and effective use of microbicides; infection control; reprocessing of medical devices; environmental control; biological indicators for novel systems and processes; formulations safe for human health and the environment; hydrotherapy pools]
physicochemical and biological factors in inactivation of pathogens [environmental fate; disinfection; validation of industry processes in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and allied industries; investigations,
development and optimization of novel inactivation processes]
microbicide resistance [factors controlling the resistance to microbicides within individual species and implications for practical use of microbicides]
antibiotic resistance [evaluating the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens; possible environmental pressures for development of antibiotic resistance]
standards and development of standard methods [development of protocols for standard tests of chemical disinfectants and topicals; organization of collaborative studies of test methods and their presentation to AOAC International and/or ASTM for consideration as standards; participation in standard setting organizations such as ISO, CEN, ASTM, AOAC, CSA, CGSB.]
biomedical waste treatment modalities [review of available technologies; optimization, testing and validation of methods; monitoring techniques]