{"673859":{"#nid":"673859","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Gyuhyon Cha","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EPh.D. Thesis Defense Announcement\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAdvancing Wastewater-based Epidemiology: Engineered Solutions for Efficient Sampling and RNA Preservation of SARS-CoV-2\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBy\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;Gyuhyon Cha\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAdvisor:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDr. Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECommittee Members: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;Dr. Xing Xie (CEE\/Georgia Tech), Dr. Ameet Pinto (CEE\/Georgia Tech), Dr. Katherine Graham (CEE\/Georgia Tech), Dr. Joe Brown (Gillings School of Global Public Health\/UNC-Chapel Hill)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDate and Time\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E:\u0026nbsp; April 12, 2024. 3:00 PM\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ELocation:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;Ford Environmental Science \u0026amp; Technology Building, Room L1205\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EABSTRACT\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has long been used to monitor infectious\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ndisease trends in communities and has received special attention during the recent\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Composite sampling using autosamplers has been shown\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nto provide more robust representation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in sewage\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ncompared to traditional grab samples. However, autosamplers have cost- and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\noperation-related limitations for application for small-scale surveillance (e.g., at\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nthe neighborhood or university campus level), for which identifying specific\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ninfection hotspots is critical. Passive sampling may offer a cost-effective\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nalternative in such settings but there is limited field data on the efficacy of this\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nmethodology. This thesis describes a study conducted on the Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ncampus that aimed to monitor SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the wastewater from four\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ndormitories using various sampling methodologies. The results suggested that\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\npassive Moore swabs can be as suitable as, if not more than, autosamplers for\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Esewage surveillance due to their increased sensitivity when wastewater flow is low\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nor intermittent. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis of the resulting data offered\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nearly signals of the introduction of new viral variants and guided prevention\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nstrategies. Follow-up in-situ experiments showed that for the campus conditions\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nstudied here the optimal deployment time of Moore swabs is about 6 hours before\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nthey begin to saturate with fecal solids. Finally, the rapid degradation of SARSCoV-\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n2 RNA in sewage is a major limitation for the wide adoption of WBE,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nparticularly in remote locations where traditional cold-chain logistics are\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nchallenging. To address this limitation, a novel cold-chain-free RNA preservation\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nmethod using porous superabsorbent polymer (PSAP) beads was validated as an\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\neffective means to preserve SARS-CoV-2 RNA at room temperature. Collectively,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nthese results and methodologies advance the toolbox of WBE and make it more\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nwidely accessible for public health monitoring.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAdvancing Wastewater-based Epidemiology: Engineered Solutions for Efficient Sampling and RNA Preservation of SARS-CoV-2\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Advancing Wastewater-based Epidemiology: Engineered Solutions for Efficient Sampling and RNA Preservation of SARS-CoV-2"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2024-03-29 20:28:39","changed_gmt":"2024-03-29 20:29:13","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2024-04-12T15:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2024-04-12T17:00:34-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2024-04-12T17:00:34-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2024-04-12 19:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2024-04-12 21:00:34","gmt_time_end_last":"2024-04-12 21:00:34","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Ford Environmental Science \u0026 Technology Building, Room L1205","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}