Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: A Critical Tool for Monitoring Environmental Chemicals, Medications, Drugs, and Pathogenic Exposures

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Topic Description

Post Date: August 27, 2026

Expiration Date: August 27, 2028

Purpose:

This topic encourages research on wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approaches for understanding exposure to environmental contaminants, medications, drugs, and pathogens at the community level. 

Background:

Wastewater can be a powerful indicator of exposure to pesticides, plasticizers, personal care products, heavy metals, industrial release, emerging contaminants, and disaster-related spills/fires. While it has been used to detect pathogens, it can also detect medications and drug metabolites. Unlike human biomonitoring which requires collecting blood or urine samples from individuals, WBE provides a non-invasive and cost-effective way to evaluate community exposure patterns, especially for large populations, both geographically and over time, therefore providing insight into community health and behavior. When combined with advanced analytical chemistry, molecular biology, and epidemiological approaches, WBE can guide prevention strategies and strengthen protection of both environmental and human health.  In addition, WBE involves data sharing and collaboration across many scientific disciplines.  However, key challenges of WBE remain and include methodological and technical aspects such as sampling variability (due to sample location and timing of sample collection), analytical methods, data integration and statistical modeling, as well as data interpretation (e.g., how the detection in wastewater correlates with real world human exposure and its public health implications) to inform more efficient public health responses.  Additionally, best practices, communication of findings, and ethical/privacy issues are also important considerations.

 

Participating ICOs

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

NIAID’s areas of interest include, but are not limited, to: 

  • Genomic epidemiology method development to better detect and track microbes, predict microbial case surges, analyze and share WBE metadata and data, integrate WBE data across platforms, and identify novel applications for secondary analyses of WBE data.
  • Development of clearer methods to distinguish human versus animal/agricultural signals and One Health integration.
  • Using WBE to study microbe biology, such as transmission, evolution, and persistence.
  • Parallel clinical and WBE studies that analyze the contribution of microbes identified in the environment to human disease.
  • Development of novel assays and laboratory methods for detection and quantification of protozoan parasites and cysts that resist chlorination.
ICO Scientific Contact:
Brooke Bozick, Ph.D.
[email protected]

M. “Kate" Bradford Plimack, Ph.D.
[email protected]

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

NIDA is interested in WBE research that supports community and public health responses to substance use and overdose. Applicants are encouraged to partner with local or state public health agencies to ensure public health relevance and ability to respond to identified hotspots and outbreaks. Applicants are also encouraged to engage people who may be affected by the research or reporting of results, including people who use drugs and other community members.

NIDA's areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Tracking patterns of substance use or exposures (e.g., illicit drugs, medications for opioid use disorder, naloxone).
  • Identifying emerging substances.
  • Examining links between substances detected in wastewater and community-level health outcomes, such as fatal and non-fatal overdose.
  • Triangulating WBE with other drug use data sources to inform public health surveillance and response.
  • Analyzing the ethical implications of wastewater surveillance of substance use and misuse detection.
ICO Scientific Contact:
MeLisa Creamer
[email protected]

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

NIEHS encourages multidisciplinary collaborations, partnerships with public health experts, epidemiologists, analytical chemists, and experts in contaminant fate and transport. 

NIEHS’s areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • WBE studies to identify known and emerging environmental contaminants impacting community health
  • WBE to identify origin(s) of contaminants and quantify contaminant contribution to disease
  • Studies that encourage/promote multi-level assessment of sewer network(s) at various scales (e.g., single and multiple wastewater treatment plant(s), neighborhood(s), building(s))
  • Technology/methodology development to advance application of WBE such as biomarkers for monitoring of community health, and assays for detection and quantification of chemical exposures 
  • Creation and incorporation of data infrastructure and standardized protocols for WBE collaboration
  • Increasing community awareness and bringing WBE to small-serving communities (e.g., rural)
IC may give special consideration to support meritorious applications in this topic area.
ICO Scientific Contact:
Danielle Carlin, PhD, DABT
[email protected]

Yuxia Cui, PhD
[email protected]

Heather Henry, PhD
[email protected]

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