Contact Information

Office: SCA 322
Phone: 813/974-4694
Email: suzanneyoung@mail.usf.edu

Education

Ph.D. in Integrative Biology, University of South Florida (2012-present)
M.A. in Geological and Environmental Sciences, Queens College/CUNY (2009-2011)
B.A. in Environmental Policy, Barnard College/Columbia University (2002-2007)

Research

I study the ecology of antibiotic resistance, specifically vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) associated with sewage. I am broadly interested in microbial ecology, waterborne pathogens and environmental policy.

Publications

Young, S.*, Nayak, B.†, Sun, S., Badgely, B.†, Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2016. Vancomycin resistant enterococci and changes in bacterial community structure associated with a residential sewage spill. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 82: 5653-5660 (PDF)

Ahmed, W., Harwood, V.J., Nguyen, K., Young, S., Hamilton, K., Toze, S. 2016. Utility of Helicobacter spp. associated GFD markers for detecting avian fecal pollution in natural waters of two continents. Water Research, 88, 613-622.

McLain, J.E., Cytryn, E., Durso, L.M., Young, S.. 2016. Culture-based methods for detection of antibiotic resistance in agroecosystems: Advantages, challenges, and gaps in knowledge. Journal of Environmental Quality, 45 (2), 432-440.

Civitello, D., Cohen, J., Fatima, H., Halstead, N., Liriano, J., McMahon, T., Ortega, N., Sauer, E., Sehgal, T., Young, S., Rohr, J. 2015. Reply to Salkeld et al.: Diversity-disease patterns are robust to study design, selection criteria, and publication bias. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112, E6262. (PDF)

Civitello, D.J., Cohen, J., Fatima, H., Halstead, N.T., Liriano, J., McMahon, T.A., Ortega, C.N., Sauer, E., Sehgal, T., Young, S., Rohr, J.R. 2015. Biodiversity inhibits parasites: broad evidence for the dilution effect. Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America, 112, 8667-8671. (PDF)

McMahon, T.A., Sears, B.F., Venesky, M.D., Brown, J.M., Deutsch, K., Halstead, N.T., Lentz, G., Tenouri, N., Young, S., Civitello, D.J., Ortega, N., Fites, J.S., Reinert, L.K., Rollins-Smith, L.A., Raffel, T.R., Rohr, J.R. 2014. Amphibians acquire resistance to live and dead fungus overcoming fungal immunosuppression. Nature 511:224-227 (PDF, Supplementary Materials, cover photo)

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Blaustein, A.R., Johnson, P.T.J., Paull, S.H., Young, S. 2013. Using physiology to understand climate-driven changes in disease and their implications for conservation. Conservation Physiology 1:cot022. (PDF)

Young, S., A. Juhl, G. O’Mullan. 2013. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the Hudson River Estuary linked to wet weather sewage contamination. Journal of Water and Health, 11 (2), 297-310. (PDF)

Presentations

Ecological Society of America, 97th Annual Meeting.  August 5-10 2012.  Portland, OR. Poster: O’Mullan, G.D., S. Lax, S.Young, and B. Song. Patterns of ammonia and nitrite oxidizing microbial diversity along the salinity gradient of the Cape Fear Estuary.

Hudson River Environmental Society, Clean Water Act at 40: Facing the Future.  May 7, 2012.  Poughkeepsie, NY.  Poster: Young, S., A. Juhl, G. O’Mullan.  Diversity and distribution of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the Hudson River Estuary.

Society for Ecological Restoration, 7th Annual Mid-Atlantic Conference, March 23-25 2012.  Brooklyn, NY.  Poster presentation: Sewage Indicators and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in the Hudson River Estuary.

Geological Society of America, Northeastern Section, 47th Annual Meeting, March 18-20 2012.  Hartford, CT.  Presenter: Increased abundance of enteric bacteria and antibiotic resistance following rain events in Flushing Bay, NY.

Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, 25th Annual Research Day Poster Session, March 24 2011.  Flushing, NY.  Poster presentation:  Raw sewage loading and antibiotic resistant bacteria in Flushing Bay, NY. 

American Society for Limnology and Oceanography, 2011 Aquatic Sciences Meeting:  Young, S., O’Mullan, G. and Juhl, A.  Feb 13-20 2011.  San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Presenter: Quantification and identification of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the Hudson River Estuary and Flushing Bay.