Wastewater-based Genomic Surveillance for Foodborne Pathogens
Official title: Wastewater-Based Microbial Genomics to Enhance Surveillance for Foodborne Pathogens
Funded at Pennsylvania State University, the · NIH-11418735 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A team will keep sequencing foodborne pathogens and build easy-to-use bioinformatic tools to track outbreaks using wastewater data.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State University, the NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (University Park, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $110,000 |
| NIH project number | 5U19FD008590-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11418735 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Not specified in this grant; this is a public health surveillance project rather than a patient-level trial.
✕Less likely to help
Patients are not directly recruited for this project, so there is no direct patient participation.
What this research studies
This project continues a long-running collaboration to sequence foodborne pathogens and connect wastewater data with public databases. It will develop user-friendly pipelines to analyze genomes and determine how related circulating pathogens are to those in public records. The work aims to make genomic surveillance more accessible for public health agencies and improve outbreak detection and response. The effort combines microbial genomics, epidemiology, and metagenomic analysis in partnership with state and university researchers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could improve detection and tracking of foodborne outbreaks, leading to faster responses and safer communities.
How similar studies have gone: Previous collaborations have achieved goals and supported trainees, suggesting this approach can contribute to robust surveillance.
Where this research is happening
-
Pennsylvania State University, the
University Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dudley, Edward G. — Pennsylvania State University, the
- Study coordinator: Dudley, Edward G.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.