Research
We are a team of microbiologists, public health officials, data scientists, and ecologists from The City University of New York and New York City Health + Hospitals working to mitigate and prevent epidemics by learning from our garbage. Our efforts include wastewater and solid waste surveillance of both bacterial and viral pathogens. Combining clinical and environmental data, we seek to better understand infectious disease transmission and evolution to drive the design of more effective public health interventions.
Wastewater surveillance | Our team regularly collects wastewater samples across NYC. Our work led to the earliest detection of the Omicron variant in the U.S. and the development of passive sampling technology that dramatically reduces costs and paves the way for sustainable biosurveillance programs. One area of current focus is hospital wastewater sampling. Hospital wastewater informs on the status of susceptible populations including immunocompromised individuals who are more likely to acquire infectious agents that, while rare today, have the potential to spark future epidemics.
Genomic epidemiology | Using a combination of targeted testing and metagenomic sequencing strategies, we track the relative abundance of common pathogens and characterize new variants. Our team integrates clinical and geospatial metadata into our phylodynamic analysis to identify new mutations that impact pathogenicity and the environmental factors that promote pathogen adaptation.
Urban ecology | We study the impact of trash availability on scavenger behavior with a particular focus on rats. Household and commercial trash exposes scavengers to diverse human pathogens in a concentrated environment. One area of current focus is rat fecal sequencing. Fecal microbiomes provide a unique view into the broad scope of urban environmental pathogens including those infecting the source individual, their diet, and species utilizing the waste.
Team
John Dennehy is a Professor of Biology at Queens College CUNY; a CUNY Institute for Implementation Science Investigator; a Senior Editor/Editor at ASM's Microbiology Resource Announcements/Virus Evolution respectively; and an Elected Fellow at the American Academy of Microbiology. John is a leader in virology and wastewater-based epidemiology. In 2020, tapped by NYC health officials, he led efforts to quantify and sequence SARS-CoV-2 from the city's wastewater. His team provided the earliest evidence of the Omicron variant in the US. John's lab developed a low-cost device to make this surveillance feasible globally, founding the company Sentinel Biotech LLC. In 2022, John established a Wastewater Epidemiology Training Laboratory Queens College. He continues to advise the NYC biosurveillance program to monitor pathogens in hospital wastewater. Email Scholar LinkedIn Homepage
Denis Nash is Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology at the CUNY SPH and founding Executive Director of the CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health. His work sits at the intersection of infectious‑disease epidemiology, public health surveillance, and the use of epidemiologic methods to conduct rigorous assessments of programmatic effectiveness. He has led the design and launch of cohort platforms to study respiratory infections including the CHASING COVID Cohort Study. Building on that infrastructure, Denis and his team recently launched Project PROTECTS, a national cohort that pairs at home multi-pathogen rapid tests with mail in PCR and saliva specimens to monitor common respiratory pathogens. Nash served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the U.S. CDC, contributing to the investigation that first detected West Nile virus in New York in 1999. Email Scholar LinkedIn Homepage
Monica Trujillo is Professor of Biology at Queensborough Community College (QCC), CUNY. Her past work has focused on Streptomyces biology including natural product isolation and environmental sensing. Since 2020 she has worked with Dr. John Dennehy in wastewater-based epidemiology. She teaches Microbiology at QCC, incorporating undergraduate research into her curriculum. She is passionate about mentoring and supporting the next generation of scientists. Monica has six grandchildren and has the honorific title of "abuela" in Dr. Dennehy's lab. Email Scholar LinkedIn
Nash Rochman is an Assistant Professor in the CUNY SPH Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics; a CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health Investigator; an NIH Special Volunteer; and coEiC of Biology Direct. Nash was drawn to a career in biology to help distil complex and confusing data into predictive models for disease. His work with the Garbage Gazers focuses on genomics data analysis and predictive modelling. Nash splits his time between NYC and DC where he lives with his wife Anita. In many locations, Nash can be found playing jazz trumpet. Email Scholar LinkedIn Homepage
Joanna Coleman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Queens College CUNY where she leads the Urban Ecology Lab. Her overarching agenda aims to mitigate the role of urbanization in global biodiversity loss. To that end, she and her mentees do interdisciplinary research using ecology, data science, molecular biology and conservation social science. Joanna also serves as Co-Chair of both the Bat Trade and Human Dimensions Working Groups in the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Species Survival Commission, Bat Specialist Group. This native Montrealer tries to spend as much time as possible outdoors and in Canada. Email Scholar Homepage
Leopolda Silvera serves as the Director of Public & Global Health Initiatives and Biosurveillance for New York City Health + Hospitals and is a CUNY Institute for Implementation Science Investigator. In this role, she develops and supports programs with a focus on "Glocal" Health Equity, which combine global and local health strategies. Her program utilizes genomic sequencing and wastewater surveillance for early detection of public health emergencies. Leopolda's previous work has implemented saliva testing for COVID-19 and environmental monitoring. She is a PhD candidate in Public/Global Health, Equity & Biosurveillance. She mentors graduate students at Mount Sinai, CUNY, and SUNY in public/global health. Leopolda holds an MPHIL from The New School, MPA from Baruch College, and BA from Queens College CUNY. Email LinkedIn
Sherin Kannoly is a Research Scientist in the Department of Biology at Queens College CUNY. Trained in microbiology and molecular biology, he is involved in studying bacteriophages and detecting viruses in wastewater. In 2020, he was involved in developing protocols to concentrate SARS-CoV-2 from NYC wastewater. He was instrumental in developing a novel technology that allows in situ passive sampling of microorganisms and facilitates extraction of microbial genomes. The technology was successfully employed to detect SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and Mpox in hospital wastewater. Sherin is the co-founder of Sentinel Biotech LLC, a private company primarily involved in developing kits for sampling microbes from water sources. Email Scholar LinkedIn
Madhura Rane is a Research Scientist at the CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health. Her work centers on infectious disease epidemiology and the application of statistical methods to evaluate health interventions at the population level, including vaccination programs. Her current research interests include vaccine confidence and uptake in the US, spatio-temporal dynamics of infectious diseases, and novel disease surveillance methods. Madhura has worked as a wastewater epidemiologist at the California Department of Public Health where she evaluated the potential for wastewater surveillance to serve as an early detection method for upcoming epidemic surges. Based in Seattle, she spends her free time hiking the trails of the PNW. Email Scholar LinkedIn
Taylor Rubin is a PhD candidate in the Department of Biology at Queens College CUNY in the Urban Ecology Lab under the advisement of Dr. Joanna Coleman. She received her bachelor's degree in Biological Anthropology from the College of William & Mary and her master's degree in Psychology (Neuroscience & Animal Behavior) from Emory University. She then spent 8 years at Zoo Atlanta in the education and bird departments, where she got involved in vulture conservation. Her conservation interest led her to Tucson Bird Alliance where she managed the education and volunteer programs. Her interest in vultures piqued her interest in all scavengers, leading to her current focus on the impact of urban trash on disease dynamics. Email Scholar LinkedIn
Fiona Fogarty is a Ferguson RISE post-doctoral scholar and Research Scientist at the CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health. She received her PhD in Environmental and Planetary Health Sciences and MPH in Community Health from CUNY SPH, where she is now an adjunct lecturer. Her work has spanned the life-course: from assessing risk factors associated with prenatal heavy metal exposure and developmental outcomes, to studying the effects of occupational heat stress on cognition late in life. Her work with the Garbage Gazers focuses on integrating genomics data science into traditional epi methods to support wastewater surveillance. Fiona enjoys running, playing traditional Irish fiddle and piano, and above all: spending time with her husband, son (human), and daughter (cat). Email Scholar LinkedIn
Sofia Pesantez is a CDC Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Disease RISE Fellow. She is a graduate of Stanford University with a master's degree in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and a B.S. degree with Honors in Human Biology, concentrating in Global Public Health and Human Performance. Her master's thesis examined clinical and environmental risk factors associated with stillbirth outcomes in Bangladesh, reflecting her commitment to global maternal and child health. Her broader research interests lie in helping to reduce global disparities in access to healthcare. She will begin medical school in the fall of 2026, where she plans to integrate her epidemiology background into clinical research aimed at advancing health equity worldwide. Email LinkedIn