College of Agriculture & Natural Resources│College of Engineering Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

Biography

Emily Julien joined the Mitchell lab in 2018 for PhD studies. Emily’s dissertation research focus was on pathogen risks arising from in-building plumbing. This includes quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for pathogens such as Legionella spp., identifying variables associated with elevated pathogen risks, and modeling in-building plumbing to assess hydraulic retention time. Emily earned her PhD in 2021, and continued working in the Mitchell lab managing a wastewater surveillance effort on MSU’s campus to monitor the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID19. Emily also has diverse work experiences from prior to joining the lab group, ranging from private consulting in oil and gas remediation to work in state government preparing air permits. 

Research

Emily’s current research is aimed at developing a risk-informed decision framework to prioritize legacy and emerging contaminants for a large drinking water supplier. This proposed framework would assist utilities by identifying contaminants which are expected to present the highest risks to consumers, allowing them to better focus limited resources on improving public health. 

Emily is also part of an EPA-funded project exploring risk tradeoffs between opportunistic pathogens (OPs), and disinfection by-products (DBPs). Populations of OPs are often managed with disinfectants such as chlorine or chloramine. However, these react with organic material in drinking water producing potentially harmful DBPs. This project aims to investigate relationships between OP proliferation and DBP formation, and ultimately, to help inform utilities of risk tradeoffs, reducing public health risks. 

Emily is interested in data science, programming and statistical analysis in R, machine learning techniques, and utilizing science and technology to improve public health and quality of life.  

Emily Julien’s dissertation research focus was on pathogen risks arising from in-building plumbing. She has previously managed a wastewater sampling effort on MSU’s campus to monitor the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2. Emily is currently working to develop a risk-informed decision framework to prioritize legacy and emerging contaminants for a large drinking water supplier.