Professor Wim Meijer is Professor of Microbiology and Head of the School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science at University College Dublin. His research focuses on pathogenic bacteria in relation to animal and human health. Within this context he has directed research projects funded by national and International funding agencies including Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, the Health Research Board, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the European Union (ICREW, Smart Coasts, CODTRACE) and the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. The latter two organisations currently fund research focusing on real time prediction of bathing water quality, development of technologies to identify the biological and geographical origins of water pollution and techniques to detect Cryptosporidium.