Dr Ronnie Mooney
Research Fellow
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Personal statement
Ronnie is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. With a research focus at the intersection of biomedical and environmental sciences, he investigates the complex interactions between amphizoic amoebae (organisms capable of both parasitic and free-living lifestyles) and the bacterial endosymbionts they harbour. A major goal of his research is to understand how these interactions contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to assess their impact on pathogenicity and detectability. His research also focuses on understanding the mechanisms of resistance to frontline therapeutics in clinically relevant amoebae such as Acanthamoeba, and identifying ways in which these mechanisms can be circumvented should they arise.
Ronnie has extensive expertise in molecular techniques, omics, bioinformatics, and cytotoxicity analysis. The far-reaching impact of this work has fostered a broad network of collaborators across academia, healthcare, and industry. Current partnerships include collaborations with eye-care corporations and clinicians to develop preventive and therapeutic approaches targeting pathogens, particularly Acanthamoeba, and with the aquaculture industry to improve detection and treatment strategies for Neoparamoeba spp., which cause amoebic gill disease in fish. Additionally, he works closely with wastewater treatment plants, hospitals, universities, government agencies, and pollution control boards to investigate and mitigate the spread of amoebae and AMR bacteria in water systems.
He is currently working on several projects focusing on the interkingdom interactions between protists and bacteria and is open to further collaborations where he can provide significant expertise in free-living amoebae and the role they play in the emergence and spread of AMR.
Prize And Awards
- Microbiology Society - Early Career Microbiologist of the Year Talk Competition Finalist
- Recipient
- 2025
- SULSA ECR Award - Microbes Finalist
- Recipient
- 2025
- SULSA ECR Prize Finalist
- Recipient
- 2023
- The Herald's Higher Education Award Research Project of the Year Shortlist
- Recipient
- 2019
- Dr William J. C. Watt Medal
- Recipient
- 2017
- Court Medal
- Recipient
- 2017
Publications
- Preliminary insights into the potential role of Acanthamoeba-Pseudomonas interactions in the development of antibiotic resistance
- Giammarini Elisa, Mooney Ronnie, Mui Ernest, Henriquez Fiona
- Access Microbiology (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.000999.v2
- Isolation of Acanthamoeba species and bacterial symbiont variability in Puna salt plains, Argentina
- Mooney Ronnie, Rodgers Kiri, Carnicelli Sandro, Carnevale Matías E, Farias Maria Eugenia, Henriquez Fiona L
- Environmental Microbiology Reports Vol 17 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.70059
- One health and contaminated estuarine ecosystems : a critical review of the status of Thane Creek, Mumbai, India
- Corbett Erin, Esiovwa Regina, Mooney Ronnie, Rodgers Kiri, Mukherji Soumyo, Connolly John, Hursthouse Andrew, Mukherji Suparna, Henriquez Fiona L
- Environmental Earth Sciences Vol 84 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-025-12108-4
- Acanthamoebae as a protective reservoir for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a clinical environment
- Mooney R, Richardson K, Rodgers K, Giammarini E, Williams R, Kelly S, Amaeze N, Inkster T, Henriquez F L, Mackay W
- Journal of Hospital Infection Vol 153, pp. 21-29 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2024.08.010
- Sodium metabisulfite inhibits acanthamoeba trophozoite growth through thiamine depletion
- Mooney Ronnie, Giammarini Elisa, Corbett Erin, Thomson Scott, McKinley Kevin, Sinisterra Sebastian Paula, Rodgers Kiri, O’Donnell Jana, McGinness Charles, Roberts Craig W, Ramaesh Kanna, Henriquez Fiona L
- Pathogens Vol 13 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13060431
- Zooming in on the intracellular microbiome composition of bacterivorous Acanthamoeba isolates
- Rayamajhee Binod, Willcox Mark Duncan, Sharma Savitri, Mooney Ronnie, Petsoglou Constantinos, Badenoch Paul, Sherchan Semendra, Henriquez Fiona, Carnt Nicole
- ISME Communications Vol 4 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycae016
Professional Activities
- 1st Global Alliance against Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK)
- Invited speaker
- 29/5/2025
- Understanding Scotland’s Role in Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance
- Organiser
- 15/5/2025
- Under the Lens: Understanding drug resistance in Acanthamoeba
- Speaker
- 4/2025
- Futures AMR Network (FAN) (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 4/2025
- The Predators Paradox: Amoebae and the Rise of Bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance
- Speaker
- 26/3/2025
- Acanthamoeba keratitis: Challenges, Novel Treatments, and Mechanisms of Drug Action & Resistance
- Speaker
- 26/3/2025
Projects
- Evaluating the feasibility of environmental DNA (eDNA) as a fast, low-cost and more accurate tool for measuring Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in infrastructure projects
- Henriquez-Mui, Fiona (Principal Investigator) Cochrane, Neil (Principal Investigator) Mooney, Ronnie (Principal Investigator) Brunton, Holly (Post Grad Student) Kean, Alistair (Principal Investigator) McDonald, Alex (Principal Investigator)
- With the introduction of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) as a statutory requirement for planning applications in England and the expansion of requirements for measurable biodiversity enhancements gaining traction internationally, there is a need for rapid, cost-effective pre and post intervention assessment of the quantity and quality of a habitat.
Traditional walkover methods can be labour intensive and rely on visiting a site e.g. a floodplain meadow, at the right time of year which may not always be conducive with project programmes and commissions leading to the risk of a site being wrongly classified and designs being based on incorrect assumptions.
Long-term habitat monitoring (e.g. over 30 years) can be expensive, with projects often challenged by funding constraints and looking for cost effective ways of undertaking the monitoring required.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring offers a novel approach to overcoming many of the complexities associated with BNG assessment. eDNA enables the detection of genetic material naturally shed by organisms into the environment, providing a highly sensitive, non-invasive, and cost-effective means of measuring biodiversity. - 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2025
- Scottish One Health AMR Register(SOHAR): Update to support and underpin UK AMR NAP 2024-2029 – Workstream 6 (Scotland) activities
- Henriquez-Mui, Fiona (Principal Investigator) Mooney, Ronnie (Principal Investigator) Cameron, Anishka (Principal Investigator) Connolly, John (Co-investigator) Hursthouse, Andrew (Co-investigator) Holden, Nicola J. (Co-investigator) Avery, Lisa (Co-investigator)
- The project aims to update the existing SOHAR to incorporate developments in the AMR research landscape over the last 3 years, identify key priorities for the register’s development and progression, and showcase work and collaborations in Scotland as well as external partnerships.
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2025
- Detection of persistent antimicrobials and pathogens using a portable fibre optic biosensor
- Mooney, Ronnie (Principal Investigator) Pal, Tathagata (Co-investigator) Corbett, Erin (Co-investigator) Bhatt, Arpita (Co-investigator) Chowdhury, Kaniz (Co-investigator)
- NERC Pump-Priming Initiative - using novel, handheld biosensor devices to detect antimicrobials and pathogens.
- 01-Jan-2022 - 01-Jan-2023
- Assessment of the role of bacterial endosymbionts on the survival and pathogenicity of the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri
- Mooney, Ronnie (Principal Investigator) Henriquez-Mui, Fiona (Co-investigator) Lorenzo-Morales, Jacob (Co-investigator) Maciver, Sutherland K. (Principal Investigator)
- SULSA Saltire Emerging Researcher Funding
- 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2021
Contact
Dr
Ronnie
Mooney
Research Fellow
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Email: ronnie.mooney@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted