Aram Swinkels

Aram Swinkels is a postdoctoral researcher in the Modernising Medical Microbiology (MMM) group. His research focuses on the development of antibiotic resistance within the microbiome following antibiotic treatment for bladder infections. To investigate this, DNA is extracted from stool samples to analyse microbiome composition and quantify antibiotic resistance genes, with the aid of computational methods.

Furthermore, Aram is working on microplastics and their interactions with bacteria. Through wet-lab experiments, he investigates how E. coli and other bacterial species form biofilms on different types of microplastics and how this is affected by stressors such as antibiotics and antiseptics. Aram also characterizes plastics recovered from sink traps to explore whether they can harbour antibiotic resistant bacteria within their biofilms, also known as the plastisphere.

Aram obtained his master’s degree in Microbial Biotechnology and Health from Leiden University. He then completed his PhD at Utrecht University with the dissertation titled: “The impact of antimicrobial persistence and co-selection on resistance.”