Irene Xagoraraki
Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), College of Engineering
Agbioresearch
Engr Rsch Complex, 1449 Engineering Research CT Rm A124
Biography
Dr. Irene Xagoraraki is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Her research focuses on microbial water quality emphasizing prevention of disease and protection of public health. She and her students have been studying: (1) environmental surveillance approaches for identification and prediction of viral outbreaks, (2) the fate of viruses and antibiotic- resistant bacteria
...
in the built environment and in natural systems, (3) virus inactivation and removal with membrane bioreactors and other water treatment processes. She has authored multiple peer-reviewed scientific journal publications and book and encyclopedia chapters. Her research has been covered by news organizations such as the New York Times, BBC and others. In 2020 her wastewater surveillance work for early detection of viral outbreaks was featured in Women in Engineering and Science: Investigations by Prominent Female Engineers, Springer Nature, Switzerland. In 2022 she was featured in the Smithsonian: Stories of Women in STEM: Biotechnology. For her research related to viruses in environmental systems and prediction of outbreaks she received awards by the US Environmental Protection Agency (2018) and by the American Society of Civil Engineers (2021 and 2022). In 2023 she received the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award at Michigan State University.
Education
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison 2001
M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1995
B.S., Environmental Studies, University of the Aegean, Greece 1993
Awards
William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award, Michigan State University (2023)
Wesley W. Horner Award, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Environmental & Water Resources Institute (2022)
State-of-the-Art of Civil Engineering Award, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), (2021)
Level I Scientific and Technological Achievement Award for Exceptionally High-Quality Research or Technological Effort: Award for Research of National Significance US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (2017-18)
Publications
Miyani B., Li Y., Guzman H., Briceno R., Vieyra S. Hinojosa R., Xagoraraki I. (2024) Bioinformatics-based screening tool identifies a wide variety of human and zoonotic viruses in Trujillo-Peru wastewater. One Health 18: 100756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100756
Li Y., Miyani B., Faust R.A., David R.E., Xagoraraki I. (2024) A broad wastewater screening and clinical data surveillance for virus-related diseases in the metropolitan Detroit Area in Michigan. Human Genomics, 18:14. http://doi.org/10.1186/s40246-024-00581-0
Zhao L., Geng Q., Corchis-Scott R., McKay R.M., Norton J., Xagoraraki I. (2023) Targeting a free viral fraction enhances the early alert potential of wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2: a methods comparison spanning the transition between delta and omicron variants in a large urban center. Frontiers in Public Health, 11: 1140441. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1140441
Gentry Z., Zhao L., Faust R.A., David R.E., Norton J., Xagoraraki I. (2023) Wastewater surveillance beyond COVID-19: a ranking system for communicable disease testing in the tri-county Detroit area, Michigan, USA. Frontiers in Public Health. 11: 1178515. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1178515
... Read More