Dr. Deirdre Prendergast is a Deputy Chief Analyst at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).  She was awarded a first class honours degree in Food Microbiology/Biochemistry and completed her PhD studies in Food Safety at the the University of Ulster. She worked as a Research Officer for eight years prior to joining DAFM and she has published nearly forty papers in various peer reviewed journals. Her interests include AMR, foodborne pathogens and WGS.