Our Partners

Beginning in August 2021, the New York State Department of Health partnered with Syracuse University to expand statewide wastewater surveillance, preserving and strengthening collaborations among academic laboratories, wastewater treatment plants, and local health departments.

The Network partners with local health departments and wastewater treatment plants, whose operators voluntarily submit samples to Network-affiliated laboratories, including the NYSDOH Wadsworth Center and Stony Brook University. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene analyzes its own samples and shares the resulting wastewater data with the Network.

Our Team

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

  • David Larsen, PhD, MPH

    LEAD EPIDEMIOLOGIST & PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

  • Mila Neyra Blatz, MPH

    PROGRAM DIRECTOR

  • Nicole Pulido, MPH

    RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

  • Christopher Dunham, MS

    DATA SCIENTIST

  • Dustin Hill, PhD

    EPIDEMIOLOGIST & POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

  • Edem Fiatsonu, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

  • Maya Craig, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

  • Alex Espinoza, MPH

    RESEARCH ASSOCIATE - EPIDEMIOLOGIST

  • Dana Neigel, MPH

    RESEARCH ASSOCIATE - EPIDEMIOLOGIST

  • Joe Moran, MSc

    RESEARCH ASSOCIATE - EPIDEMIOLOGIST

  • Jane Apiyo Abok

    GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Tomisin Cardozo

    GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Andrew Markmann

    UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Bailey Scott

    UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Ella CiCola

    UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Jordan McGuire

    UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Keira MacDowell

    UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Lukas Lee

    UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

  • Roma Agarwal

    UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (NYSDOH)

  • Daniel Lang, PG

    DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

  • Kathleen Bush, PhD

    DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC OPERATIONS, CEH

  • Sylvia Byun, PhD, MPH

    DEPUTY DIRECTOR, QI PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

  • Haley R. Kappus-Kron, MPH

    PROGRAM RESEARCH SPECIALIST III

  • Shaz Damani, MPH

    PROGRAM RESEARCH SPECIALIST III

  • Paul Dougall, MA, MS

    PROGRAM RESEARCH SPECIALIST II

  • Samantha Long, MS

    EVALUATION SPECIALIST I

  • Gena Gallinger, MS

    DIRECTOR, CEH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION GROUP

  • Stephanie Facchine

    HEALTH EDUCATION MEDIA SPECIALIST III

  • Akhila Thota

NYSDOH WADSWORTH CENTER

  • Leonard F. Peruski, PhD, MSc

    DIRECTOR, WADSWORTH CENTER

  • James Chithalen, PhD

    DEPUTY DIRECTOR, WADSWORTH CENTER

  • Kirsten St. George, PhD

    CHIEF, VIRAL DISEASES; DIRECTOR, VIROLOGY LABORATORY

  • Kimberlee A. Musser, PhD

    CLINICAL DIRECTOR, BACTERIOLOGY LABORATORY

  • Sudha Chaturvedi, PhD

    DIRECTOR, MYCOLOGY LABORATORY

  • Kathleen A. McDonough, PhD

    DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE

  • Christina Egan, PhD

    DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE

  • Siân Owen, PhD

    BACTERIOPHAGES & MOBILE GENETIC ELEMENTS

  • Kara Mitchell, PhD

    DIRECTOR, BACTERIAL REFERENCE AND SPECIAL PROJECTS

  • Daryl M. Lamson, MT (ASCP)

    ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, VIROLOGY

  • Patrick Bryant, PhD

    DIRECTOR, VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES

  • Jennifer Laplante

    DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, LABORATORY OF VIRAL DISEASES; TEAM LEAD, INFLUENZA SEQUENCING AND ANTIVIRAL RESISTANCE

  • Lindsey Rickerman, MS

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST II, BIOINFORMATICS

  • Monica Foote, PhD

    DIRECTOR, WASTEWATER PROCESSING LABORATORY

  • Jonathan Plitnick, MA

    LABORATORY MANAGER, WASTEWATER PROCESSING LABORATORY

  • Aishwarya Jadhav, MS

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

  • Latavia Hill, PhD

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

  • Sonali Biswas, MS

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY

  • Christopher J. Gobler, PhD

    DIRECTOR, CCWT

  • Lokesh Padye, PhD

    ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CCWT

  • Rahul Kumar, PhD

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

  • Mian Wang, PhD

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

  • Ruth Drinkwater

    RESEARCH SUPPORT ASSOCIATE

  • Lakshta Kundal

    RESEARCH SUPPORT SPECIALIST