Overview
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 170 publications. Jake is strongly supportive of early career researcher development and is the former 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
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Works
Search Professor Jake O'Brien’s works on UQ eSpace
2012
Conference Publication
Wastewater "epidemiology": competitor or complement to survey studies?
Lai, F. Y., Thai, P. K., O'Brien, J., Mueller, J. F., Ort, C., Carter, S., Eaglesham, G., Prichard, J., Bruno, R., van Dyken, E., Hall, W., Gartner, C., Humphries, M. and Karpievitch, Y. (2012). Wastewater "epidemiology": competitor or complement to survey studies?. 2012 National Drug Trends Conference. Drugs, crime and the front-line: Australiasian perspective, Sydney, NSW Australia, 9 October 2012.
2012
Conference Publication
Forensic epidemiology: estimating illicit drug prevalence at a music festival through wastewater analysis
Lai, F. Y., Thai, P. K., Ort, C., O'Brien, J., Kele, B., Hall, W., Gartner, C., Bruno, R., Kirkbride, P. and Mueller, J. F. (2012). Forensic epidemiology: estimating illicit drug prevalence at a music festival through wastewater analysis. 21st International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences, Hobart, TAS Australia, 23-27 September 2012.
2011
Journal Article
A cleaner river: Long term use of semipermeable membrane devices demonstrate that concentrations of selected organochlorines and PAHs in the Brisbane River estuary, Queensland have reduced substantially over the past decade
Mueller, J. F., Mortimer, M. R., O'Brien, J., Komarova, T. and Carter, S. (2011). A cleaner river: Long term use of semipermeable membrane devices demonstrate that concentrations of selected organochlorines and PAHs in the Brisbane River estuary, Queensland have reduced substantially over the past decade. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 63 (5-12), 73-76. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.03.026
1979
Journal Article
MODIFIED THOUGHT STOPPING PROCEDURE FOR THE TREATMENT OF AGORAPHOBIA
OBRIEN, JS (1979). MODIFIED THOUGHT STOPPING PROCEDURE FOR THE TREATMENT OF AGORAPHOBIA. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 10 (2), 121-124. doi: 10.1016/0005-7916(79)90086-7
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Jake O'Brien is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
AMR in food producing environments (Ref: 5529)
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
-
Doctor Philosophy
Non-Targeted High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Characterisation of Highly Mobile and Highly Persistent Chemicals
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Environmental Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance - From Monitoring to Transmission Pathways
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas, Professor Jianhua Guo
-
Doctor Philosophy
The suitability of wastewater-based epidemiology for AMR surveillance
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
-
Doctor Philosophy
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Characterisation of Ubiquitous Environmental Contaminants of Emerging Concern
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
-
Doctor Philosophy
Characterisation and Quantification of Nanoplastics in the Environment Using Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of Specialised Hyphenated Methodologies for Quantifying New Halogenated Plastic Materials
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Elvis Okoffo, Dr Cassandra Rauert
-
Doctor Philosophy
Assessment of biomarker transformation in the wastewater system
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Qiuda Zheng, Associate Professor Phong Thai
-
Doctor Philosophy
Catchment and treatment impacts on antimicrobial resistance in direct and indirect potable water reuse
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Paul Jensen, Professor Jianhua Guo, Associate Professor Gilda Carvalho
-
Doctor Philosophy
Deciphering known and unknown chemical drivers ofantimicrobial resistance in environmental mixtures
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding use and fate of ingredients in consumer products
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Richard Bade
Completed supervision
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring antimicrobial resistance in Australian wastewater
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jianhua Guo, Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Microplastics in the air: Working towards understanding micro plastics in the atmospheric environment, the plastic exposome and human respiratory exposure
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Fisher Wang, Dr Cassandra Rauert, Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Antibiotics and other chemicals that select for antimicrobial resistance in Australian wastewater
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Advancing the non-target identification of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in environmental samples
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ian Wood, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon, Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Estimating use of nicotine containing products and evaluating tobacco-related health risks through wastewater analysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Ben Tscharke, Associate Professor Phong Thai
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluating the suitability of wastewater analysis for the detection and monitoring of performance- and image-enhancing drug use
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Ben Tscharke, Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Assessment of plastic contamination in marine organisms
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon, Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
An assessment of alcohol and tobacco consumption by wastewater-based epidemiology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Professor Kevin Thomas, Dr Ben Tscharke, Associate Professor Phong Thai
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Assessment of analgesic consumption and the burden of treated pain in Australia using wastewater-based epidemiology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Ben Tscharke, Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
An assessment of plastic residues in Australian biosolids
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller, Dr Ben Tscharke, Professor Kevin Thomas
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing sources, fate, and the potential risk of UV filters in the aquatic environment
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jochen Mueller
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Population diet and stress estimates using wastewater based epidemiology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kevin Thomas, Professor Jochen Mueller
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Expanding wastewater-based epidemiology and evaluating the stability of biomarkers in the sewers: from the laboratory to the field
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Phong Thai, Professor Jochen Mueller
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Jake O'Brien directly for media enquiries about:
- Illicit drug monitoring in wastewater
- national wastewater drug monitoring program
- wastewater
Need help?
For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team: