Environmental and Food Virology
Kenepuru Science Centre
Gail is a virologist/microbiologist with over 30 years experience.
She has developed and implemented a range of molecular methodologies in the last 15 years, and has led research programmes in clinical, environmental and food microbiology centering on molecular technology. Her current interests are focused on enteric viral disease, environmental and food virology, molecular epidemiology of noroviruses, gastroenteritis outbreaks, and foodborne viral diseases. Gail is an IANZ assessor in environmental virology, and her team is participating in international environmental virology validation programmes.
Areas of expertise:
- molecular detection of non-culturable viruses in environmental samples and foods (especially shellfish) implicated in food poisoning
- molecular detection of enteric viruses in faecal samples
- molecular epidemiology of noroviruses
- identification of hepatitis A virus and noroviruses associated with disease outbreaks
- survival and persistence of enteric viruses in bivalve shellfish and fresh produce
- molecular microbiology method development