Dr. Daniel Abiriga

Lecturer - Environmental Science

Dr. Abiriga Daniel is an early career scientist, with expertise in microbial ecology and water quality, having >5 years of research experience and >2 years of teaching experience. He has applied both culture-dependent and culture-independent molecular sequencing methods to study the microbiology of various sample types (incl. soil, water, plastics, sediments, beer). As an early career researcher, Daniel aspires to advance the field of microbial ecology by applying cutting-edge analytical techniques to explore microbially-mediated biogeochemical processes (microbial food web loop) in African freshwater ecosystems such as the African Great Lakes, as well as addressing contemporary microbial issues like antimicrobial resistance and (micro/nano)plastic pollutants as microbial habitats.

Qualifications

Ph.D. Microbial Ecology (Freshwater Microbiology), USN (Norway)

Master in Environmental Science, USN (Norway)

Postgraduate Certificate in Freshwater Quality Monitoring and Assessment (UN GEMS/water CDC), UCC (Ireland)

Bachelor in Science – Biochemistry Major, Mak (Uganda)

Research Interests

General Microbiology (soil, air, water, extremophiles, Antimicrobial resistance in the environmental dimensions, plastisphere)

Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics for Environmental Sequencing

Ecotoxicology

Water quality issues in a changing climate

Remote sensing for water quality

Publications

Daniel Abiriga, Robinson Odong, Grace Kizito Bakyayita, Ronald Semyalo, William Okello and Hans-Peter Grossart . (2025) . The microbiology of Uganda’s large freshwater lakes experiencing anthropogenic and climatic perturbations: why it matters—a review , pp. 1-11. Available at: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2024.3072
Abiriga, D., Jenkins, A. & Klempe, H. . (2022) . Microbial assembly and co-occurrence network in an aquifer under press perturbation . Annals of Microbiology, [online] Volume . Available at: https://annalsmicrobiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13213-022-01698-0
Abiriga, D., Jenkins, A., Vestgarden, L.S; Klempe, H. . (2021) . A nature-based solution to a landfill-leachate contamination of a confined aquifer . Scientific Research, [online] Volume . Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94041-7
Daniel Abiriga, Andrew Jenkins, Kristian Alfsnes, Live Semb Vestgarden, Harald Klempe . (2021) . Spatiotemporal and seasonal dynamics in the microbial communities of a landfill-leachate contaminated aquifer . FEMS Microbiology Ecology, [online] Volume . Available at: https://academic.oup.com/femsec/article/97/7/fiab086/6302377

Projects

No Projects found.

Supervision

No Supervisions yet. Try again later

Presentations

Conference, seminar and professional meeting attended

  1. 24/4/2017: The Norwegian Hydrological Council Professional Meeting 2017 on Water Quality at Oslo Science Park, Blindern, Oslo. Poster presentation.
  2. 03/02/2025-07/02/2025: ACARE annual meeting of the African Great Lakes stakeholder network, Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Lusaka, Zambia.

More Information

ICT, Computational, and Analytical Skills

  • Computer literate (Microsoft office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook).
  • Statistical analyses/programming in R.
  • Bioinformatics: programming (Unix command line), basic knowledge; web-based (structural bioinformatics), working knowledge.
  • Other software with hands-on experience: MEGA, ChromasPro, Gephi, STAMP, XLSTAT and many web servers.

An active member of international professional scientific bodies:

  • International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME)
  • ECS Reviewer Board Member of ISME journals
  • International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR)
  • International Water Association (IWA)

Other professional networks joined:

  • African Great Lakes Advisory Board Member for Lakes Edward-Albert Group (LEAAG)
  • Rural Water Supply Network under groundwater section (RWSN)
  • African Lakes Remote Sensing Network (ALReS)

Responsible for the following courses:

  • Environmental Microbiology
  • Environmental Toxicology
  • Environmental Biotechnology
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Industrialisation and Environment
  • Biochemistry

Share Details

QR Code