Joan Rose

Joan is a public health microbiologist and works at the interface between environmental engineering and public health. Shje holds the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at Michigan State University where she has worked for the last 22 years. She is the Director of the MSU Water Alliance leading interdisciplinary efforts to solve significant water problems in the 21st Century (https://water.msu.edu/ ). She applies new method for detection of pathogens in water including metagenomics for viruses – She works on environmental surveillance of waterborne disease causing agents including protozoa in sewage, surface waters, recreational waters and drinking waters. Dr. Rose also examines removal by engineered treatment systems from bench scale to full scale. Finally she is a leader in microbial risk assessment bridging science and policy. Her global activity includes investigation of waterborne disease outbreaks and the study of water supplies, treatment, and reclamation. Her applied research interests include study of microbial pathogens in recreational waters and climatic factors impacting water quality. She has published more than 300 manuscripts.She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2011), She is the winner of the 2016 Stockholm Water Prize and the 2024 International Water Association’s Global Water Award and the 2026 recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize