COVID-19 Research
Wastewater surveillance
Recent evidence suggests the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater sources can be used as a leading indicator of COVID-19 symptomatic cases, possibly as far out as 4-7 days. In partnership with WVU School of Public Health, we are developing a surveillance system based on droplet digital PCR to assay campus and community wastewater sources for viral RNA as part of a comprehensive testing paradigm.
Genomic epidemiology
Rapid whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has been used to track the origins of numerous pathogen outbreaks, from food-borne (E. coli) to water-borne (Vibrio cholerae) illnesses. Most recently, WGS applied to the COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated points of viral introduction into populations, and identified the importance and prevalence of community transmission. In collaboration with researchers at WVU’s Health Science Center, we are building out capacity to sequence and analyze SARS-CoV-2 genomes from West Virginia and surrounding communities.