Wastewater epidemiology for STH in Bay Area
Amy Pickering, Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Applications for Fall 2025 are closed for this project.
Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) cause a neglected tropical disease inextricably linked to poverty, inadequate sanitation, and unhygienic conditions. STH account for over five million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and infect around 1.5 billion people, representing the most prevalent parasitic infections worldwide. Classical microscopy-based surveillance strategies are suboptimal and costly. This project aims to assess the feasibility and utility of wastewater samples for infectious stages of STH as a community level surveillance tool. Wastewater samples from California will be processed and assayed using species-specific qPCR to detect STH DNA.
Role: The student will primarily assist with DNA extractions and qPCR as well as data review and organization. Tasks will include molecular biology protocols, R scripts (statistical programming language), documenting issues or errors in data, and organizing samples. Training will be provided on molecular assays and R statistical programming language. The student will be invited to participate in weekly lab meetings and expected to present each semester.
Qualifications: basic skills in R statistical programming language, wet lab knowledge a bonus, interest in global health and infectious disease
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Kendra Dahmer, Post-Doc
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: 125 O'Brien Hall
Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & Technologies