Boehm Research Group
Home Courses Papers Projects Students
Pathogens in wastewater solids
We do translational and fundamental research on pathogens in wastewater to inform the field of wastewater surveillance of diseases. We work closely with public health and wastewater treatment plant staff across the United States. Data from our daily measurements at wastewater treatment plants can be found here: Link to website showing national data collected prospectively on pathogens in wastewater solids.

Image: A generic wastewater treatment plant.
Human virus persistence in surface waters
Current work is focused on enveloped viruses including influenza and coronaviruses. Past work has included a wide range of viruses, as well as bacteria. We are particularly interested in the effects of sunlight on viruses in water.

Image: A drawing of a generic virus.
Fomites and disease transmission
We study the occurrence of pathogens on surfaces and their persistence there, as well as their ability to transfer from surfaces to hands and fingertips. This work has used different research approaches including systematic literature reviews, measurements and sampling of surfaces, and experiments using both human volunteers and cadavers.

Image: A drawing of a generic surface.
Stormwater
Stormwater can contain high levels of pathogens and other pollutants. We aim to understand the problem of stormwater pollution including the risks it presents to human health and develop solutions to the problem including stormwater biofilters.

Image: Runoff from the San Dieguito River into the ocean. Source.
Coastal water quality
Coastal waters are essential resources, yet coastal water quality, especially in urban environments is grossly degraded. We work on projects to understand sources of contamination to the marine environment, and we develop solutions to improve water quality. Solutions are often policy-oriented, so we work closely with local, regional, and federal policy makers when we work on projects in this area. Fundamental research on fate processes that modulate pollutants in the marine environment are also a part of this work. This work uses lab and field research approaches, as well as modeling. We use molecular methods including sequencing approaches and digital PCR, and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) and machine learning in this work. As part of this work, we developed nowcast models of beach water quality that are applied daily by Heal the Bay (NGO) and posted on their beach report card website. Our work on these projects often includes citizen science.

Image: Map of field sites along the California Coast. Source.
Monitoring the marine environment with environmental DNA (eDNA)
Obtaining a census of marine life is important to understand changes in marine ecosystems that result from stressors such as overfishing, ocean acidification, hypoxia, pollution, and biological invasions. Traditional monitoring of marine fish and invertebrate biodiversity and resources is largely dependent on capture or observational methods, which are often destructive, invasive, expensive and time-consuming. Marine organisms are constantly shedding tissue cells and waste into water; these contain the organisms’ unique DNA signatures. By sequencing environmental DNA (eDNA) or by detecting species-specific eDNA sequences through quantitative PCR in marine waters, we believe that we can obtain a census of marine life present in the water mass. The goal of the proposed work is to explore the feasibility of using the sequences of eDNA in marine waters to characterize the distribution, diversity, and abundance of the organisms present.

Image: Probability map showing eDNA origin locations. Source.
Environmental detection and health risks of enteric pathogens in low-income communities
We are continually undertaking work to investigate the occurrence of pathogens in water, in the environment, and on hands of individuals in low and middle income countries. We are interested in their sources, fate, and transport, and the implications of their presence on health risk. Current projects are focused on Bangladesh. Previous work was carried out in Kenya and in Tanzania, as well as Papua New Guinea. Current projects are examining the role of different types of flooring an the presence of helminths.

Image: Goat near a pit latrine in Bangladesh. Source.
Updated March 2024