Dr Jake O'Brien
Dr

Jake O'Brien

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 344 32448

Background

Doctor Jake O’Brien is Senior Research Fellow and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS). His main field of interest is in wastewater-based epidemiology, but he also has interest in developing analytical methods for chemicals of emerging concern within biological and environmental samples. Doctor O'Brien is a strong advocate for collaborative research having co-authored with more than 300 collaborators worldwide on over 150 publications. Jake is strongly supportive of early career researcher development and is currently the chair of the EMCR@UQ Committee. He is also a Chief Investigator of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program since its establishment in 2016.

Availability

Dr Jake O'Brien is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Analytical chemistry Chemical Sciences Disease surveillance Environmental Sciences Epidemiology Health Sciences Pollution and contamination Pollution and contamination not elsewhere classified Social epidemiology

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Search Professor Jake O'Brien’s works on UQ eSpace

210 works between 2011 and 2025
All (210) Journal Article (159) Book Chapter (3) Conference Publication (38) Book (1) Other Outputs (9)

1 - 20 of 210 works

2025

Journal Article

Bridging knowledge gaps in human chemical exposure via drinking water with non-target screening

Ciccarelli, Davide, Samanipour, Saer, Rapp-Wright, Helena, Bieber, Stefan, Letzel, Thomas, O’Brien, Jake W., Marczylo, Tim, Gant, Timothy W., Vineis, Paolo and Barron, Leon P. (2025). Bridging knowledge gaps in human chemical exposure via drinking water with non-target screening. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 55 (3), 190-214. doi: 10.1080/10643389.2024.2396690

Bridging knowledge gaps in human chemical exposure via drinking water with non-target screening

2024

Journal Article

National survey of the occurrence of antimicrobial agents in Australian wastewater and their socioeconomic correlates

Li, Jinglong, O’Brien, Jake W., Tscharke, Benjamin J., He, Chang, Shimko, Katja M., Shao, Xueting, Zhai, Naixiang, Mueller, Jochen F. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2024). National survey of the occurrence of antimicrobial agents in Australian wastewater and their socioeconomic correlates. Nature Water, 2 (12), 1166-1177. doi: 10.1038/s44221-024-00349-9

National survey of the occurrence of antimicrobial agents in Australian wastewater and their socioeconomic correlates

2024

Journal Article

Wastewater‐based evaluation of the efficacy of oxycodone regulations in Australia

Verhagen, Rory, Gerber, Cobus, Thai, Phong K., Connor, Jason, Loveday, Bill, Bade, Richard, O'Brien, Jake, Jaunay, Emma L., Simpson, Bradley S., Chan, Gary, Hall, Wayne, Thomas, Kevin V., Mueller, Jochen F. and Tscharke, Benjamin J. (2024). Wastewater‐based evaluation of the efficacy of oxycodone regulations in Australia. Addiction, 119 (12), 2153-2161. doi: 10.1111/add.16653

Wastewater‐based evaluation of the efficacy of oxycodone regulations in Australia

2024

Journal Article

Assessing daily patterns in stimulant use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia using wastewater analysis

Chen, Shuo, Bade, Richard, Tscharke, Ben, Hall, Wayne, Thai, Phong, He, Chang, Ahmed, Fahad, Zheng, Qiuda, Choi, Phil M., O'Brien, Jake W. and Mueller, Jochen F. (2024). Assessing daily patterns in stimulant use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia using wastewater analysis. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 476 135130, 135130. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135130

Assessing daily patterns in stimulant use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia using wastewater analysis

2024

Journal Article

High throughput and sensitive quantitation of tobacco-specific alkaloids and nitrosamines in wastewater

Wang, Zhe, Zheng, Qiuda, Tscharke, Benjamin J., Li, Jinglong, O'Brien, Jake W., Patterson, Brad, Zhao, Zeyang, Thomas, Kevin V., Mueller, Jochen F. and Thai, Phong K. (2024). High throughput and sensitive quantitation of tobacco-specific alkaloids and nitrosamines in wastewater. Talanta, 277 126401, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.126401

High throughput and sensitive quantitation of tobacco-specific alkaloids and nitrosamines in wastewater

2024

Journal Article

Wastewater Microbiome Analysis for Population Alcohol Abuse

Wu, Jiangping, Chen, Yan, Zhao, Jiawei, Prosun, Tanjila Alam, O’Brien, Jake William, Coin, Lachlan, Hai, Faisal I., Sanderson-Smith, Martina and Jiang, Guangming (2024). Wastewater Microbiome Analysis for Population Alcohol Abuse. Water, 16 (15) 2149, 2149. doi: 10.3390/w16152149

Wastewater Microbiome Analysis for Population Alcohol Abuse

2024

Journal Article

Application of design of experiment for quantification of 71 new psychoactive substances in influent wastewater

Nadarajan, Dhayaalini, O’Brien, Jake, Cresswell, Sarah, Kele, Ben, Mueller, Jochen and Bade, Richard (2024). Application of design of experiment for quantification of 71 new psychoactive substances in influent wastewater. Analytica Chimica Acta, 1321 343036, 343036. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.343036

Application of design of experiment for quantification of 71 new psychoactive substances in influent wastewater

2024

Journal Article

Exploring the chemical space of the exposome: how far have we gone?

Samanipour, Saer, Barron, Leon Patrick, van Herwerden, Denice, Praetorius, Antonia, Thomas, Kevin V. and O’Brien, Jake William (2024). Exploring the chemical space of the exposome: how far have we gone?. JACS Au, 4 (7), 2412-2425. doi: 10.1021/jacsau.4c00220

Exploring the chemical space of the exposome: how far have we gone?

2024

Journal Article

Seven-years of alcohol consumption in Australia by wastewater analysis: exploring patterns by remoteness and socioeconomic factors

Tscharke, Ben, Livingston, Michael, O'Brien, Jake W., Bade, Richard, Thomas, Kevin V., Mueller, Jochen F., Hall, Wayne, Simpson, Bradley S., Jaunay, Emma, Gerber, Cobus, White, Jason M. and Thai, Phong K. (2024). Seven-years of alcohol consumption in Australia by wastewater analysis: exploring patterns by remoteness and socioeconomic factors. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 259 111317, 111317. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111317

Seven-years of alcohol consumption in Australia by wastewater analysis: exploring patterns by remoteness and socioeconomic factors

2024

Journal Article

Exploring the Chemical Subspace of RPLC: a Data Driven Approach

van Herwerden, Denice, Nikolopoulos, Alexandros, Barron, Leon P., O’Brien, Jake W., Pirok, Bob W.J., Thomas, Kevin V. and Samanipour, Saer (2024). Exploring the Chemical Subspace of RPLC: a Data Driven Approach. Analytica Chimica Acta, 1317 342869, 342869. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342869

Exploring the Chemical Subspace of RPLC: a Data Driven Approach

2024

Journal Article

Refining the correction factor for a better monitoring of antidepressant use by wastewater-based epidemiology: a case study of amitriptyline

Zhao, Zeyang, Zheng, Qiuda, Tscharke, Benjamin J., Ahmed, Fahad, O'Brien, Jake W., Gao, Jianfa, Covaci, Adrian and Thai, Phong K. (2024). Refining the correction factor for a better monitoring of antidepressant use by wastewater-based epidemiology: a case study of amitriptyline. Science of The Total Environment, 926 172057, 172057. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172057

Refining the correction factor for a better monitoring of antidepressant use by wastewater-based epidemiology: a case study of amitriptyline

2024

Journal Article

Nationwide occurrence and discharge mass load of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in effluent and biosolids: a snapshot from 75 wastewater treatment plants across Australia

Nguyen, Hue T., Thai, Phong K., Kaserzon, Sarit L., O'Brien, Jake W. and Mueller, Jochen F. (2024). Nationwide occurrence and discharge mass load of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in effluent and biosolids: a snapshot from 75 wastewater treatment plants across Australia. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 470 134203, 134203. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134203

Nationwide occurrence and discharge mass load of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in effluent and biosolids: a snapshot from 75 wastewater treatment plants across Australia

2024

Journal Article

Workflow to facilitate the detection of new psychoactive substances and drugs of abuse in influent urban wastewater

Bade, Richard, van Herwerden, Denice, Rousis, Nikolaos, Adhikari, Sangeet, Allen, Darren, Baduel, Christine, Bijlsma, Lubertus, Boogaerts, Tim, Burgard, Dan, Chappell, Andrew, Driver, Erin M., Sodre, Fernando Fabriz, Fatta-Kassinos, Despo, Gracia-Lor, Emma, Gracia-Marín, Elisa, Halden, Rolf U., Heath, Ester, Jaunay, Emma, Krotulski, Alex, Lai, Foon Yin, Löve, Arndís Sue Ching, O’Brien, Jake W., Oh, Jeong-Eun, Pasin, Daniel, Castro, Marco Pineda, Psichoudaki, Magda, Salgueiro-Gonzalez, Noelia, Gomes, Cezar Silvino, Subedi, Bikram ... Mueller, Jochen (2024). Workflow to facilitate the detection of new psychoactive substances and drugs of abuse in influent urban wastewater. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 469 133955, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133955

Workflow to facilitate the detection of new psychoactive substances and drugs of abuse in influent urban wastewater

2024

Journal Article

Characterising differences between self-reported and wastewater-identified drug use at two consecutive years of an Australian music festival

Puljević, Cheneal, Tscharke, Benjamin, Wessel, Ellen Leslie, Francis, Cameron, Verhagen, Rory, O'Brien, Jake W., Bade, Richard, Nadarajan, Dhayaalini, Measham, Fiona, Stowe, M.J., Piatkowski, Timothy, Ferris, Jason, Page, Robert, Hiley, Sarah, Eassey, Christopher, McKinnon, Ginny, Sinclair, Genevieve, Blatchford, Emily, Engel, Liam, Norvill, Alice and Barratt, Monica J. (2024). Characterising differences between self-reported and wastewater-identified drug use at two consecutive years of an Australian music festival. Science of The Total Environment, 921 170934, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170934

Characterising differences between self-reported and wastewater-identified drug use at two consecutive years of an Australian music festival

2024

Journal Article

Associations between the wastewater microbiome and community obesity rates: A study in Australia

Wu, Jiangping, Chen, Yan, Zhao, Jiawei, Prosun, Tanjila, O'Brien, Jake William, Coin, Lachlan, Hai, Faisal I., Sanderson-Smith, Martina, Bi, Peng and Jiang, Guangming (2024). Associations between the wastewater microbiome and community obesity rates: A study in Australia. Soil & Environmental Health, 2 (2) 100081, 100081. doi: 10.1016/j.seh.2024.100081

Associations between the wastewater microbiome and community obesity rates: A study in Australia

2024

Journal Article

Improving wastewater-based epidemiology for new psychoactive substance surveillance by combining a high-throughput in vitro metabolism assay and LC−HRMS metabolite identification

Bade, Richard, Huchthausen, Julia, Huber, Carolin, Dewapriya, Pradeep, Tscharke, Benjamin J., Verhagen, Rory, Puljevic, Cheneal, Escher, Beate I. and O'Brien, Jake W. (2024). Improving wastewater-based epidemiology for new psychoactive substance surveillance by combining a high-throughput in vitro metabolism assay and LC−HRMS metabolite identification. Water Research, 253 121297, 121297. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121297

Improving wastewater-based epidemiology for new psychoactive substance surveillance by combining a high-throughput in vitro metabolism assay and LC−HRMS metabolite identification

2024

Journal Article

Monitoring the use of novel psychoactive substances in Australia by wastewater-based epidemiology

Jaunay, Emma L., Bade, Richard, Paxton, Kara R., Nadarajan, Dhayaalini, Barry, Daniel C., Zhai, Yuze, Tscharke, Benjamin J., O'Brien, Jake W., Mueller, Jochen, White, Jason M., Simpson, Bradley S. and Gerber, Cobus (2024). Monitoring the use of novel psychoactive substances in Australia by wastewater-based epidemiology. Science of The Total Environment, 919 170473, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170473

Monitoring the use of novel psychoactive substances in Australia by wastewater-based epidemiology

2024

Journal Article

A review of wastewater-based epidemiology for antimicrobial resistance surveillance

Clarke, Leah M., O’Brien, Jake W., Murray, Aimee K., Gaze, William H. and Thomas, Kevin V. (2024). A review of wastewater-based epidemiology for antimicrobial resistance surveillance. Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment, 3 (1) 7, 1-18. doi: 10.20517/jeea.2023.29

A review of wastewater-based epidemiology for antimicrobial resistance surveillance

2024

Journal Article

Analysis of wastewater from 2013 to 2021 detected a recent increase in nicotine use in Queensland, Australia

Wang, Zhe, Zheng, Qiuda, O'Brien, Jake W., Tscharke, Benjamin J., Chan, Gary, Thomas, Kevin V., Mueller, Jochen F. and Thai, Phong K. (2024). Analysis of wastewater from 2013 to 2021 detected a recent increase in nicotine use in Queensland, Australia. Water Research, 250 121040, 121040. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.121040

Analysis of wastewater from 2013 to 2021 detected a recent increase in nicotine use in Queensland, Australia

2024

Journal Article

In-sewer stability of 31 human health biomarkers and suitability for wastewater-based epidemiology

Li, Jiaying, Choi, Phil M., Gao, Jianfa, Ren, Jianan, O'Brien, Jake W., Thomas, Kevin V., Mueller, Jochen F., Thai, Phong K. and Jiang, Guangming (2024). In-sewer stability of 31 human health biomarkers and suitability for wastewater-based epidemiology. Water Research, 249 120978, 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120978

In-sewer stability of 31 human health biomarkers and suitability for wastewater-based epidemiology

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2026
    MOBSTER: Integrating antimicrobial resistance gene mobility analysis into surveillance to estimate risks
    Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2027
    National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program
    Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2028
    ARC Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (ARC ITRP administered by the University of Tasmania)
    University of Tasmania
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    Realistic assessment of biomarker transformation in the wastewater system
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2026
    A National Wastewater Surveillance Program for Antimicrobial Resistance
    NHMRC Investigator Grants
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2025
    Understanding Australia by analysing wastewater during the Census 2021
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2023
    Assessing the toxicity and metabolism of New Psychoactive Substances and their presence in wastewater
    Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Preliminary investigations relating to the role of cyanobacterial blooms in the amplification and dispersal of antimicrobial resistance
    Melbourne Water Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    Estimating use of tobacco and nicotine products through wastewater analysis
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program
    Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2022
    Revolutionizing real-time genomic epidemiology in urban wastewater systems (ARC Discovery Project administered by the University of Wollongong)
    University of Wollongong
    Open grant
  • 2018
    Measuring community oxidative stress and tobacco consumption levels through wastewater analysis
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    National Wastewater Analysis Capability Project
    Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
    Open grant
  • 2013
    UWA/UQ joint project on sewer epidemiology
    UWA-UQ Bilateral Research Collaboration Award
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Jake O'Brien is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Dr Jake O'Brien directly for media enquiries about:

  • Illicit drug monitoring in wastewater
  • national wastewater drug monitoring program
  • wastewater

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