CEE Ph.D. Defense Announcement: Detection and Monitoring of Viruses in Water for Public Health & Environmental Engineering Applications

Abstract: Wastewater-based surveillance has emerged as a critical tool for tracking infectious diseases and informing public health responses. As the field continues to evolve, there is a need to refine methodologies for viral detection, improve real-time monitoring techniques, and integrate microbial risk assessment frameworks to support water quality applications. This research presents three interconnected objectives that aim to address key gaps in wastewater monitoring and microbiological treatment: (1) evaluating the role of WBS in assisted living facilities to assess its correlation with clinical testing and the impact of public health interventions, (2) investigating the application of flow cytometry for detecting virus-like particles in wastewater treatment plants and its correlation with traditional infectious coliphage plaque assays, and (3) developing a quantitative microbial risk assessment framework for non-potable water reuse applications using empirical polymerase chain reaction data.