School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo　Research Center for Water Environment Technology

Singapore’s coastal environments are complex and dynamic, characterized by diverse ecosystems, hydrodynamics and nutrient dynamics that intricately interact along its coastlines. This rich ecological tapestry is continuously influenced by the varying demands of human activities, necessitating a careful balance to ensure the long-term sustainability of coastal functions and services, especially under the duress of increasing urbanization and escalating climate change pressures. The presence of pathogens and microbial indicators in coastal waters, especially near aquaculture farms or areas frequented for human recreational activities such as beaches, is of growing concern. The potential for increased pathogen load, influenced by changing climatic conditions and heightened human activity, poses significant public health risks. These microbial risks are further exacerbated by the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

In this talk, I will share some of our recent findings on pathogens and AMR determinants in Singapore coastal waters and how we are developing integrated models to better predict the risks to human, aquaculture and ecosystem health, from catchment to marine ecosystem scales. Ultimately, the goal of these models is to enable a better understanding of anthropogenic and climate change impacts on the marine environment and thus, to assist policymakers to implement suitable strategies to counter the compounding problems of disease and antimicrobial resistance.

Dr Karina Gin is a Provost Chair Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore. She received her Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Melbourne (1988), M.Eng Degree from the National University of Singapore (1991) and Doctor of Science (ScD) Degree jointly from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (1996). Her research specialisation is in water quality and ecosystem processes, with particular interest in understanding the fate and transport of emerging microbial and chemical contaminants of concern including antimicrobial resistance, pathogens and harmful algal blooms. Prof Gin received the Provost Chair (NUS) (2025), National Public Administration Medal (Bronze) (COVID-19) (2023), the COVID Resilience Medal (2023) and Dean’s Chair (NUS) (2017-2019). She is co-author of a book on ‘The Environment in Asia Pacific Harbours’ which received a UN Atlas of the Ocean award (2006) and is co-recipient of the Technology Enterprise Challenge (TEC) Innovator Award (2005). She has also served on several WHO Expert Panels/Meetings to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance, pathogens and microbial safety of water in food, drinking water and water reuse.