Students (past & present)

2026 PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Mentors: Lutgarde Raskin and Steven Skerlos

Research at UM: The primary goal of my PhD research is to develop and apply microbiome engineering techniques within an innovative first-phase anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor system which treats food waste and wastewater sludge. By simulating the rumen, or stomach, of ruminants, my first-phase reactor aims to enhance the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials and other recalcitrant substances found in waste, ultimately producing short-chain carboxylic acids.

Comments: ITIMS has facilitated invaluable connections with researchers beyond my immediate field of study. Participating in symposiums and the ITIMS salon has kept me abreast of the latest developments in this rapidly evolving research area, providing continual inspiration and insight.

Current Info

GitHub

ORCiD

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2025, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Laboratory Mentor: Lutgarde Raskin

Population/Modeling Mentor: Steven Skerlos

CV (provided 8/8/2023)

Previous Institution: University of Hong Kong (B.Eng in Civil Engineering)

Research interest(s) and project(s) at U of M: I am developing a biomembrane filtration system which combines the membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) and a dynamic membrane bioreactor (DMBR) to remove nitrogen and solids in wastewater. DMBR uses the biofilm to metabolize nitrate and retain the suspended solids in the wastewater, I am trying to engineer the biofilm, or dynamic membrane, to be more sustainable for long-term use. We have a pilot scale system which is running at Ann Arbor wastewater treatment to demonstrate the feasbility of the concept of "biomembrane filtration" process. In the meanwhile, I am developing a multiplex biofilm investigation system using optical coherence tomagraphy to investigate the biofilm structure at mesoscale and manipulate the predation pressure and see how different predation pressure impacts the biofilm structure. 

Math modeling aspect(s) of the research. I am developing a process model of the biomembrane filtration process of the dynamic membrane bioreactor using SIMBA# (a process engineering software) 

Laboratory aspect(s) of the research. I will monitor the biochemical parameters including ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen, biological oxygen demand, etc. in the influent and effluent to evaluate the performance of biomembrane filtration system. 

Population Sciences aspect(s) of the research. I will use metagenomics and 16S rRNA sequencing to investigate the bacterial and eukaryotic community, as well as the co-occurrence of different species in anoxic dynamic membrane bioreactor designed for denitrfication. 

Graphical abstract of the research: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1c17tjHRhaXSqhy278Z-RGQB6dOCcNa0B 

ORCiD

ITiMS Experience (2022-2024)

PhD 2025, Microbiology and Immunology

Laboratory Mentor: Robert Woods

Population/Modeling Mentor: Aaron King

Previous Institution: Loyola University Chicago 

Research interest(s) and project(s) at U of M: My research is focused on vancomycin resistant enterococcus faecium (VRE) and the role of bacteriocins in its transmission through the Michigan Medicine hospital system.

Math modeling aspect(s) of the research. The modeling aspects of my research includes transmission modeling of VRE and evaluating the influence of bacteriocin presence on transmission predictions.

Laboratory aspect(s) of the research. My lab work includes microbe culturing, assessment of bacteriocin activity, and various molecular biology techniques.

Population Sciences aspect(s) of the research. Population sciences are integrated into my work by studying the evolutionary and ecological impacts of VRE bacteriocins on the gut microbiome.

PhD 2024, Civil & Environmental Egineering

Co-Mentors: Lutgarde Raskin and Luis Zaman

PhD 2024, Environmental Health Sciences

Dissertation Title: "Novel Means for Manipulating Bacterial Communities with Applications in Plant Growth Enhancement and Pathogen Reduction"

Co-Mentors: Chuanwu Xi and Marisa Eisenberg

PhD 2024, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Dissertation Title: ""

Co-Mentors: Vincent Denef and Annette Ostling

Current Institution: postdoctoral research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the Plant Microbe Interfaces team

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2022, Environment and Sustainability

Dissertation Title: "Fungal community composition regulates fine root decay: Implications for the cycling and storage of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems"

Co-Mentors: Donald Zak and Inés Ibáñez 

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2022, Bioinformatics

Dissertation Title: "Modeling of infectious disease informed by investigative focus and data characteristics"

Co-Mentors: Robert J. Woods and Aaron A. King

PhD 2023, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Dissertation Title "Systems theory in soil agroecology"

nmedina@umich.edu

Previous Institution: Brandeis University (Biology + Environmental Studies) and University of Michigan EEB for MS

Co-Mentors:

Timothy James, Ph.D.

John Vandermeer, PhD

U-M Research Project(s): My research aims to elaborate on how soils form a basis for environmental sustainability. For farming, the living things in soil, like and ants and microbes, are important for making soil more fertile, and thereby increasing plant growth. Fertile soils have more nutrients in the form of dead organic matter (mostly feces), which gives soils more granular (or crumbling) structure, and also support more soil biodiversity. For soil microbes, a more structured habitat makes notable differences in who lives where, and which species are more likely to co-exist with each other. I’m interested in how soil structure shapes patterns of its biodiversity. The broader field of ecology proposes some hypotheses—like animals helping microbes migrate around, competitors having separate areas to thrive, and surprising indirect interactions among 3 or more species living together—I aim to expand on how these ideas apply to the soil world, in contexts that have received less attention historically, like tropical and urban systems, to highlight the detail of new examples.

Mathematical modeling

Models of even just a few species can show complicated interactions. In this way, modeling can keep humans humble about our understanding of nature, while helping us explore otherwise hidden processes. I’ve used used computer simulations of classic competition, and ones of paired oscillators (e.g. populations or pendulums) to observe how small-scale interactions produce patterns for entire communities of species.

Laboratory sciences

I’m currently using environmental sequencing methods to observe patterns of microbial diversity among soil aggregate sizes. After extracting DNA from soils, I’m amplifying fungal and bacterial subsets using primers designed for the ITS and 16s v4 regions of the fungal and bacterial ribosomes (respectively). Other types of insights have also come from observing simplified soil communities in the lab, using well-known and specific soil microbes, which might also be good justifications for follow-up modeling.

Population sciences

My data comes from different coffee farms in the neo-tropics, and am finding more to work with in the Detroit area, aiming to keep the contexts of my research that are slightly more flexible, like focal plant or pest species, best targeted to small-farmer interests, which may be different than the interests of the broader, larger agricultural economy/sector.

PhD 2024, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Co-Mentors: Melissa Duhaime and Luis Zaman

Current Info

Freida's Website

ITiMS Experience 

PhD 2022, Epidemiology

Dissertation Title: "Salivary Omics Measurements as Biomarkers for Epidemiological Analysis"

Laboratory Mentor: Kelly Bakulski

Population/Modeling Mentor: Betsy Foxman

Previous Institution: University of Michigan

Research interest(s) and project(s) at U of M: My research interests focus on incorporating concepts from evolution and ecology to understand how human health and disease is shaped by the microorganisms with which we share our environment. I'm particularly interested in integrating analysis of host, microbe and environmental factors in order to understand multifactorial diseases for which single causal agents are lacking or poorly understood (such as dental caries, gingivitis, preterm birth and metabolic syndromes). Through my participation in two training fellowships, the Genome Science Training Program and the Integrated Training Program in Microbial Systems, I use methods in mathematical modeling and population sciences to analyze high-dimensional and compositional data. 

Math modeling aspect(s) of the research. I study microbial systems using genomic techniques, including 16S rRNA amplicon based sequencing and metagenomic methods. The data produced by these methods is high-dimensional, sparse, and compositional.  I attempt to reduce the dimensionality of this data while retaining complexity using techniques from mathematics and data science such as weighted network analysis and latent class analysis. As I continue in my PhD I am interested in translating these techniques to time-series analyses, potentially involving dynamic mode decomposition or dynamic Bayesian networks.

Population Sciences aspect(s) of the research. As an epidemiologist, I work with large cohorts of individuals to draw inference on causal mechanisms in populations. I am particularly involved with Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia (COHRA) study, investigating microbial agents in oral disease within a large, longitudinal cohort of American children. 

Current Institution: Ohio State University

PhD 2023, Chemical Engineering

Dissertation Title: "Characterizing and utilizing droplet co-cultivation to elucidate interactions in microbiomes"

jamestan@umich.edu

Previous Institution: University of Michigan (Environmental Engineering)

Co-Mentors:

Nina Lin, Ph.D.

Evan Snitkin, PhD

U-M Research Project(s): My research utilizes novel microfluidic techniques to provide insight into unanswered questions in microbial ecology. Advances in microfluidics allows for the encapsulation of cells and molecules in microfluidic droplets (“microdroplets”), which are nanoliter-scale water-in-oil emulsions that allow for typical microbiological and molecular techniques to be performed massively parallel and at ultra-high throughput with unprecedented resolution. I utilize this technology to encapsulate native bacterial aggregates or random subsets of microbes in droplets and study their composition and interactions. In collaboration with Dr. Gregory Dick in Earth and Environmental Science, we do so with cyanobacterial aggregates (referred to as “colonies”) from the Lake Erie cyanobacterial harmful blooms and with model systems derived from Lake Erie. We are currently investigating interactions between bloom-causing Microcystis aeruginosa and its heterotrophic partners to study how their coexistence allows blooms to occur.

Mathematical modeling

I’m particularly interested in combining metagenome-assembled genomes obtained from metagenomics with genome-scale metabolic models that utilize flux-balance analysis to model exchanged metabolites between different species. We are planning on developing hypotheses for which metabolites are exchanged between model strains of Microcystis and their coexisting heterotrophs and verify them in culture. These metabolic models could also be used to elucidate potential relationships between Microcystis in coloniesand their physically-associated microbiota.

Laboratory sciences

I am working on incorporating ‘omics technology to the ultra-throughput nature of microfluidics to systematically study complex microbial communities at the micron-scale. While our lab is capable of studying single droplets with metagenomics, I am working to extend that capability to thousands of droplets to help us draw conclusions on a more rigorous experimental scale.

Population sciences

The droplet platform allows us to synthetically assemble microbial communities from individual cells. The co-cultivation of these synthetic communities is right at the interface for when populations of different species combine and can help us understand how different microbial cells form these complex communities. We plan to infer the diverse array of interactions (i.e. mutualism, commensalism, etc.) with droplets and study the community structures that emerge from them.

Current Institution: Stanford University

PhD 2022, Civil & Environmental Engineering

klangenf@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution: University of Iowa

Co-Mentors:

Krista Wigginton, Ph.D.

Melissa B. Duhaime

U-M Research Project(s): The role of transduction on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes at wastewater treatment plants by applying metagenomics and mathematical modeling.

Current Institution: University of Michigan

PhD 2021, Epidemiology

Dissertation Title: "Evaluating Objective Biological Measures to Characterize Enteropathogen Exposure"

lespir@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution: University of Manitoba

Co-Mentors

Nancy Love, Ph.D.

Joseph Eisenberg, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Current Institution: Johns Hopkins University

PhD 2020, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dissertation Title: "Engineering Anaerobic Microbiomes for Medium Chain Carboxylic Acids Production from Waste Streams"

shilva@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution: University of Hawaii

Co-Mentors

Lutgarde Raskin, Ph.D.

Steven Skerlos, Ph.D.

U-M Research Project(s): My PhD dissertation research is motivated by the negative impacts of the increasing volumes of waste and the environmental and economic benefits that can be gained by recovering resources from waste. By integrating process engineering, microbial community characterization, and modeling, I am working towards a technology that relies on anaerobic fermentation by a mixed-culture microbial community for recovering medium chain carboxylic acids (MCCAs), a platform chemical, from organic waste streams including food waste and brewery waste.

Laboratory Science

I am operating two bench-scale anaerobic bioreactors to optimize MCCAs production from the organic waste streams. I am also working on developing a novel combination of stable isotope probing and meta’omics approaches to characterize the mixed-culture microbial communities involved in the process of MCCAs production and use the microbial information to inform engineering decisions to enhance MCCAs production.

Mathematic modeling

I plan to integrate microbial process modeling with life cycle assessment modeling to predict the effect of perturbations on microbial community structure, performance, and life cycle outcomes. I will incorporate experimental data obtained from my bioreactor systems to validate modeling outcomes and use the model to support the full scale design and implementation of this technology.

Current Institution: Stanford University

PhD 2020, School for Environment and Sustainability

Dissertation Title: "Ectomycorrhizal fungi deferentially obtain N derived from soil organic matter: implications for community assembly and forest response to climate change"

ptpell@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution: Pomona College

Co-Mentors:

Donald Zak, Ph.D.

Inés Ibáñez, PhD

U-M Research Project(s): I study fungal mutualists across a range of systems, including plant associated endophytes and ectomycorrhizal fungi. I link meta'omic approaches with community and ecosystem ecology to understand the role of mutualistic fungi in plant growth dynamics.

Math Modeling: I study how variation in the composition and function of ectomycorrhizal communities impacts plant growths. This work, in collaboration with Professor Ines Ibanez uses individual models of plant growth to calculate how the nutrient foraging dynamics of ectomycorrhizal fungi impacts plant growth.

Population: I study variation in tree bark endophyte communities across a range of overstory tree species. I also study ectomycorrhizal fungi and their population and community dynamics across soil fertility gradients.

Laboratory: I employ microcosm based studies of plant growth with a range of mycorrhizal mutualists, using transcriptomics and isotope tracing to study plant uptake of nitrogen.

Current Info

Current Institution: Scientist, Modeling and Statistics, Vedanta Biosciences

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2020, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dissertation Title: "Microbial Diversity and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Land Applied Manure"

emcrosse@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution:

Lafayette College

Co-Mentors:

Indika Rajapakse, Ph.D.

Lutgarde Raskin, Ph.D.

U-M Research Project(s): Manure and biosolid application are important resource recovery pathways that return nutrients and organic carbon to soil to improve crop yields and limit the need for carbon-intensive synthesized fertilizers. However, biosolids and manure are sources of antimicrobial resistance genes and antimicrobial resistant bacteria. I am probing the complex and dynamic microbial communities in engineered resource recovery systems at wastewater treatment plants and dairy farms to evaluate how engineered interventions mitigate the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes through land application.

Laboratory and Population Sciences: I apply culture-independent molecular tools to probe the community and antimicrobial resistant gene composition of fertilizer recovered from wastewater treatment and dairy farms, as Class B biosolids and lagoon-stabilized manure, respectively. I have evaluated the performance of DNA extraction kits at minimizing bias and delivering high-quality DNA for sequencing efforts. I am currently developing and using bioinformatics approaches to improve absolute quantification of antimicrobial resistance genes in complex environmental samples.

Population Sciences: I am working with a cohort of dairy farms across the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and Northeast United Studies and a cohort of wastewater treatment plants in Southeastern Michigan. The two pilot studies with these cohorts will inform how much variability we see between the microbial ecology of treated biosolids and determine if there are certain resource recovery processes that reduce the AMR loading to the environment through land application.

Mathematical Modeling: I am developing a mathematical framework to define horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and study the role it plays in maintaining the stability of microbial communities. The goal of this research to evaluate when microbial communities are most susceptible to HGT and how to intervene and control horizontal gene transfer.

Current Info

Current Institution: University of Southern California

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2020, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology

Dissertation Title: "Programming Synthetic Microbial Communities for Coexistence, Coordination, and Information Processing"

agkrieg@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution:

University of Michigan (BS Neuroscience)

Co-Mentors:

Nina Lin, Ph.D.

U-M Research Project(s): I am interested in engineering microbial communities to perform industrially, medically, and environmentally useful tasks such as conversion of plant biomass to biofuel and bioremediation. Coordinating population level interactions and relative abundance of species within these communities is a fundamental challenge within the field. My dissertation research focuses on using regulated temperature changes as a tool to modulate growth rates and therefore relative abundance of species within a microbial co-culture.

Mathematical modeling: I am developing a mathematical model based on the Lotka-Volterra model of interspecific competition in order to predict population dynamics in response to temperature changes. Eventually this model will be used to predict temperatures and time intervals which will maintain desired relative abundance of species within a microbial community.

Laboratory approaches: I use experimental microbial co-cultures to verify predictions made by our model and to explore species interactions and adaptations between community species.

Current Info

Current Institution: AAAS/U.S. Department of State

Visit Hayden's personal website

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2019, Resource Ecology Management, School for Environment and Sustainability

Dissertation Title: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch: a One Health investigation of antimicrobial resistance at the intersection of small-scale agricultural development and global health in northwestern Ecuador"

hedmanh@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution:

University of Colorado Boulder

Co-Mentors:

Joseph Eisenberg, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Carl Marrs, Ph.D.

U-M Research Project(s):

Increased overlap of human-animal contact have promoted recent inclines of emerging infectious diseases. The use of antibiotics in animal husbandry has promoted not only antibiotic-resistant bacteria among livestock but also the cross-species transmission between other livestock, wildlife, and humans. The spillover of antimicrobial-resistant commensals demonstrates a pressing concern for veterinarian science, ecology, and public health. I am interested in evaluating the spillover of antibiotic-resistant bacteria with a holistic approach that accounts for how agricultural practices affect the ecology and evolution of drug-resistant microbes.

Laboratory sciences: I use microbial and molecular techniques to analyze the resistome of samples collected from poultry, humans, and the surrounding environment. I apply both culture-based and culture independent methodologies to monitor bacterial resistance. Specifically, I screen and sequence antimicrobial-resistant genes to analyze the evolutionary history of bacteria from animals and humans.

Mathematical modelling: I apply spatial epidemiological models to understand how antimicrobial resistance spreads among chickens and humans within the environment. Such models allow me to predict shed rates of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria into the environment. I also apply spatial ecological models to predict the probability of spatial distributions of free-ranging chickens. Collectively, I use these both methods to inform the relationship of geospatial distance to nearest farming activity and susceptibility to antimicrobial agents.

Population sciences: I study antimicrobial resistance in populations of Escherichia coli sampled from animals and humans. I apply population and community ecology methods to better understand how succession of drug-resistant bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract of host species can affect overall microbial community structure and composition.

Current Info

Current Institution:  Exploitatie Manager Industrieel Afvalwater at De Watergroep, Leuven, Flemish Region, Belgium

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2019, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dissertation: "Advancing Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors for Low Temperature Domestic Wastewater Treatment"

steendam@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution:

University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (M.S. in Chemical Engineering)

Co-Mentors:

Lutgarde Raskin, Ph.D.

Steven Skerlos, Ph.D.

Current Research Project(s):

I aspire to develop and implement wastewater treatment technologies that make it possible to shift away from discharging treated wastewater in the environment towards recovering resources (e.g., water, energy, nutrients) from wastewater. My current dissertation project revolves around designing and evaluating anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) for domestic wastewater treatment in cold to moderate climates.

Laboratory approaches. I designed a novel bench-scale AnMBR that relies on biofilm treatment to make anaerobic microbial treatment possible at low temperatures. While this bench-scale research will provide insight into the fundamentals of low temperature anaerobic wastewater treatment, I am, in parallel, operating a 2,000-liter pilot-scale AnMBR system (Northfield, MI) to provide on-site proof of concept for AnMBR technology in cold to moderate climates.

Mathematical modeling. Another important step towards facilitating wide-spread implementation of AnMBRs entails developing a biological model that can assist engineers in establishing optimal design and operating conditions. I will employ both my bench and pilot scale systems to evaluate biofilm parameters necessary to develop such a mechanistic, population-based AnMBR model.

Current Info

Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2018, Epidemiology

Dissertation Title: "Engineering Anaerobic Microbiomes for Medium Chain Carboxylic Acids Production from Waste Streams"

rgic@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution: Virginia Tech (B.S. in Biological Sciences); University of Michigan (M.P.H. in Hospital & Molecular Epidemiology)

Co-Mentors:

Betsy Foxman, Ph.D.

Marisa Eisenberg, Ph.D.

UM Research Project(s): My research focuses on characterizing population-level trends of hepatitis C virus infection and drug use (e.g. opioids) in young adults in the United States. More broadly, I’m interested in infectious diseases, public health surveillance, health policy, and the intersection of human microbiome research and epidemiology.

Mathematical Modeling & Population Sciences: I am developing an ordinary differential equation model of hepatitis C virus transmission fit to surveillance data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. I’m exploring how under-detection of cases by surveillance systems for hepatitis C can be incorporated into transmission models to help predict disease prevalence. I am also involved in a project modeling household transmission of Helicobacter pylori.

Population & Laboratory Sciences: I’m involved in several microbiome-related research projects. One project will characterize the gut microbiota among persons in substance use treatment. I’m also part of a team focused on bacterial communities in saliva and dental plaque.

Current Info

Current Institution: Gladstone Institutes San Francisco Bay Area

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2018, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Dissertation Title: "Integrated Analysis of the Gut Microbiota and Their Fermentation Products in Mice Treated with the Longevity Enhancing Drug Acarbose"

bjsm@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution: The College of William & Mary in Virginia (B.S. in Biology)

Co-Mentors:

Thomas Schmidt, Ph.D.

Aaron King, Ph.D.

U-M Research Project(s): I am interested in the role of evolutionary and ecological selection in shaping the function of complex microbial communities. For my dissertation research I study the effects of longevity enhancing drugs on the gut microbiome, in particular the production of microbial metabolites which may impact host health. I am especially interested in ecological phenomena which affect microbial communities across the full breadth of environmental and taxonomic diversity.

Laboratory sciences: I use modern sequencing approaches and analytical chemistry techniques to asses the taxonomic, functional, and metabolic composition of the gut environment.

Mathematical modeling: I harness simulation, statistics, and machine learning to understand and model the complexity of microbial systems.

Current Institution: Duke University

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2018, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dissertation Title: "Nitrogen and Sulfer Cycling During Wastewater Treatment"

jesethdv@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution:

The University of Texas at Austin (B.S. in Civil Engineering)

Co-Mentors:

Nancy Love, Ph.D.

Gregory Dick, Ph.D.

U-M Research Project(s): My dissertation research is focused on using a novel process, the membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), to remove nitrogen from wastewater. By coupling experimentation with modeling, I have the ability to generate new hypotheses using the models and test the hypotheses in the laboratory

Mathematical Modeling I have developed a one-dimensional biofilm model of an MABR biofilm. I have used this biofilm model to generate hypotheses on how to improve nitrogen removal in the MABR system. I am currently in the process of expanding my model to include biogeochemical interactions relevant to the MABR system to evaluate whether cryptic cycling of nitrite and sulfide occur in the MABR biofilms.

Laboratory approaches I currently have a lab scale MABR reactor which has been in operation for two years. I have tested operational regimes from my modeling in the laboratory system. I plan on applying biomolecular approaches to understand the microbial competition that is occurring the biofilm. I am particularly interested in using biomolecular methods to explore sulfur cycling in the biofilm.

Current Info

Current Institution: North Carolina State University

ITiMS Experience

PhD 2017, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dissertation Title: "Factors of Full-scale Drinking Water Systems that Contribute to Risk of Opportunistic Infectious Disease"

kotlarz@umich.edu

curriculum vitae

Previous Institution: Lehigh University (B.S. in Environmental Engineering); Dominican University (M.A. in Teaching); University of Michigan (M.S. in Environmental Engineering)

Co-Mentors:

Lutgarde Raskin, Ph.D.

John LiPuma, M.D.

UM Research Project(s):  I study the impacts of chemical disinfection on the microbial communities in drinking water. My goal is to understand how disinfection processes applied at the water treatment plant impact the diversity of environmental mycobacteria in water sampled from homes, and whether household water is a source of opportunistic bacterial infections in individuals with cystic fibrosis.

The two research questions I am investigating for my dissertation are (1) How does disinfection impact populations of opportunistic pathogens, particularly nontuberculous Mycobacterium species, in drinking water? and (2) Is the increasing use of the drinking water disinfectant monochloramine contributing to an increasing incidence of opportunistic mycobacterial infections?

Laboratory sciences: Using various analytical and molecular methods, I am sampling the microbial communities in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant that uses ozone and monochloramine disinfection to study how disinfection processes impact Mycobacterium species in drinking water.

Population sciences: Using existing human health data from the University of Michigan Health System medical record, I am employing an epidemiological approach to investigate a possible association between opportunistic mycobacterial infection rates and disinfectant type in public water systems in the United States.

Current Info

Kevin's Website

Current Institution: Research Investigator, University of Michigan

kboehnke@umich.edu

ITiMS Experience

2017 PhD Environmental Health Sciences

Dissertation Title: "The risk of infection from exposure to waterborne

Helicobacter pylori and the resulting health impact in Lima, Peru."

curriculum vitae (archive)

Previous Institution: University of Michigan (BS in Biology)

Co-Mentors: 

Chuanwu Xi, Ph.D.

Joseph Eisenberg, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Research Project(s) at U-M: I am interested in public health disparities between high and low income nations related to water. My dissertation research focuses on the transmission of Helicobacter pylori in the drinking water supply in Lima, Peru.

Population sciences: Measuring the quantities of H. pylori in drinking water to which populations in Lima, Peru are exposed.

Laboratory sciences: In the laboratory, performing dosing experiments to more accurately estimate the infectious dose of H. pylori in drinking water and evaluating whether traditional household water treatment systems are able to prevent transmission of H. pylori in water.

Mathematical modeling: Using mathematical modeling approaches, quantifying the risk of infection from waterborne H. pylori and examining whether household water treatment systems can mitigate that risk.