

Amy Pickering, PhD
Associate Professor
Dr. Pickering is the Blum Center Distinguished Chair in Global Poverty and Practice jointly appointed in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Blum Center for Developing Economies. Dr. Pickering received her B.S. from Cornell University, M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and Ph.D. from Stanford University. She has also held positions as a senior fellow and research engineer at Stanford University, an environmental engineer at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Fulbright Fellow in Malaysia. She is a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator and winner of the NSF early CAREER Award.

Sooyeol (Suzy) Kim, PhD
Postdoc
Suzy’s research focuses on using wastewater to gain information about the health status of communities, often referred to as wastewater-based epidemiology. Suzy completed her MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering at Stanford University where she focused on optimizing use of wastewater monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic at different scales of systems. She received her BS from Harvey Mudd College in Chemistry.

Daniel Daehyun Kim, PhD
Postdoc
Daniel is interested in investigating how antibiotic-resistant genes are transmitted between humans, animals, and the environment. He previously received his BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Korea University, and his MS and PhD from KAIST, where he studied microbial nitrogen cycles in diverse environments with respect to greenhouse gas.

Mwale Chiyenge, PhD
Postdoc
Mwale’s research focuses on evaluating the effects of a passive, in-line chlorination intervention alongside on-site disinfectant production on maternal and neonatal health outcomes in low resourced, rural health care facilities. She received her PhD in Civil Engineering with an Environmental Engineering focus from New York University where her research centered around modeling sunlight disinfection kinetics of waterborne bacteria and viruses. Prior to this, she received her B.S. and Master of Environmental Engineering from Texas Tech University.

Kendra Joy Dahmer, PhD
Postdoc
Kendra’s research focuses on improving and implementing environmental surveillance tools for soil-transmitted helminths in endemic countries. Kendra completed her PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences at UW-Madison where her research focused on drug target discovery and molecular surveillance tools for vector-transmitted parasitic nematodes. She holds an AA in Sciences from Golden West College and a BS in Microbiology from UW-Milwaukee.

Denise Garcia
PhD Student, CEE
Denise is an MS/PhD student at UC Berkeley. Denise obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in environmental engineering at San Diego State University. Denise conducted research in Tijuana, MX on decentralized wastewater treatment systems. She was awarded the NSF graduate research fellowship and hopes to conduct research on disease transmission in low-income countries while attending UC Berkeley.

Jeremy Lowe
PhD Student, CEE
Jeremy focuses on understanding transmission pathways of pathogens in the environment in low-income countries, human exposure to these pathogens and subsequent health outcomes, and strategies that can limit exposure to pathogens and improve health. He previously graduated from NC State University with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering. Outside of research, Jeremy loves being outside either running, cycling, or hiking.

Caroline McCormack
PhD student, CEE
Caroline is an environmental engineering MS/PhD student at UC Berkeley interested in pathogen transmission in the environment and antimicrobial resistance. She previously graduated with a BS in chemistry and a minor in global health from Emory University, where she researched the synthesis of novel disinfectants to combat antimicrobial resistant bacteria

Hannah Wharton
PhD student, CEE
Hannah received her BS and MS in Civil Engineering from UMass Amherst, where she evaluated bacterial water quality from point-of-use water treatment for low income settings and researched pathogen transport in intermittent water supply. Her research interests focus on investigating pathogen transmission in low-income settings and the impacts of WASH interventions on transmission pathways.

Marcy Sanchez
PhD Student, CEE
Marcy is a first-year MS/PhD student at UC Berkeley. She graduated from Yale in 2022 with a BS in Environmental Engineering and spent three years in the environmental remediation industry in New York City. She took a year off during her undergraduate education to focus full-time on wastewater-based epidemiology research to track COVID-19 levels and plans to continue building upon wastewater and public health research at Berkeley.

Joyce Kisiangani
PhD Student, EHS
Joyce’s research focuses on evaluating passive chlorination in healthcare facilities in resource-constrained regions. Prior to joining the Pickering Lab at UC Berkeley, she received her MPH from Moi University, Kenya and spent 8 years working at the Aquaya Institute, a non-profit research institute focused on water and sanitation. While there, Joyce conducted research into targeted pro-poor interventions and safe water management and developed a particular interest in water quality.

John Mboya
MPH Student
John Mboya is a MPH student at Berkeley with a Global Health Fellowship. He is also a research associate with Innovations for Poverty, Action in Kenya and has managed a large number of WASH and global health field projects. He is interested in strategies to provide equitable health care access in Kenya, and reducing environmental transmission of infectious disease in rural Kenya.

Vishnu Kotta
PhD Student, CEE
Vishnu Kotta completed his BS and MS at Arizona State University, where he researched pathogen and biofilm interactions with building water treatment technologies and their downstream impacts on public health. At UC Berkeley, he aims to assess the burden of zoonotic and environmentally transmitted pathogens, as well as antimicrobial resistance, in low-resource settings worldwide. He is interested in investigating engineered interventions that strengthen public health infrastructure in these communities.

Kennedy Brown
PhD Student, CEE
Kennedy is a first year PhD student in the Pickering lab, and comes from the University of Vermont where she received her BS in Civil Engineering and her MS in Environmental Engineering. As an undergraduate and graduate student she conducted research on microbial pathways for the anaerobic degradation of organic waste. She is excited to exercise her passion for equitable WASH systems by applying her knowledge in wastewater treatment to a public health setting. During her summers, Kennedy works for Idaho Fish and Game on a backcountry snorkel crew where she gets to do her favorite activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, and being outdoors.

Joël Siko
Visiting PhD Student
Joël is a visiting PhD student from Benin working on detection of STHs eggs in soil and wastewater, with the aim of developing tools for environmental monitoring of STHs and other diseases in endemic areas. He has an MS from University of Abomey-Calavi where he studied monitoring of aquatic resources with research on assessment of fish parasites as biological markers of inland water quality.

Henry Warder
Consultant
Henry has an MEng in Mechanical Engineering. Henry’s work with the Pickering Lab is focused on building products, devices and services that increase access to clean drinking water in resource constrained communities. When he’s not in the lab mocking up his latest designs, Henry can most likely be found surfing his local break or running his favorite trails.

Pratiyush Singh
MS DevEng

Crystal Ong
UG, MCB + Public Health
Crystal is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, double majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology (Cell and Developmental Physiology) and Public Health. She is passionate about learning and teaching science, as well as addressing medical and community health inequities. Other organizations she is involved in on campus include being an educational director for the Telehealth DeCal, volunteering with the Kidney Disease Screening & Awareness Program, and leading the Asian Community Health organization. Beyond academia, she enjoys skiing in Tahoe, attending concerts with friends, and exploring different cafes around Berkeley!

Olivia Wahl
UG, Applied Math

Alexa Piscil
UG, BioE
medical devices, cell and tissue engineering, and recombinant DNA technology. Outside of research, Alexa likes to play with UC Berkeley Mariachi Luz de Oro, listen to music, read, bake, travel, and hang out with friends!

Sophia Anjali Roy-Burman
UG Public Health

Theo Pan
UG, Data Science
Theo is a third year undergraduate student studying data science at UC Berkeley. He is passionate about the use of data science and artificial intelligence to improve health outcomes. Outside of academics, Theo enjoys volunteering for an organization called the Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals, which organizes free donated medical care for low income workers. He also enjoys hiking, running, and playing piano.

Emma Nathanson
UG Interdisciplinary Studies
Emma is a third-year Interdisciplinary Studies student in the fields of Epidemiology, Public Health, and Climate Change. She addresses these topics with a OneHealth approach, emphasizing the interconnection between human, nonhuman animal, and planetary health. In particular, she is interested in the interplay between pathogens and climate change. Emma is motivated to improve global health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations, and to take strides to mitigate the climate crisis. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor sports and travel.

Femke Maes
Visiting PhD Student
Femke is a visiting PhD student from Ghent University. Her research evaluates the impact of public drinking water infrastructure and home-based water treatment systems in rural low-income regions. In addition to focusing on pathogen reduction and health improvement, she is also interested in user-perspectives on water treatment and household-level cost-benefit analysis. She holds a BS and MS in Educational sciences and a MS in Economics from Ghent University.

Aidan Mahoney
MS DevEng
Aidan Mahoney is in the Development Engineering program at Berkeley. He received his undergraduate degree of environmental engineering from the University of Vermont where he became passionate about WASH technology. His research interests are in designing and scaling passive in line chlorination systems.

Lana Makarem
UG Public Health
Lana is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley studying public health. She is passionate about using STEM education as a way to connect with youth and foster passion for learning and discovery. She also strives to understand and address health inequities through all facets of her personal and professional journey. On campus, she is a volunteer EMT with the Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps and the K-12 director for the Middle Eastern North African Recruitment and Retention Center. Off campus, she enjoys her job as an EMT in Oakland and San Francisco as well as going camping and exploring new places with friends!

Kaylynn Sue-Jung Yune
UG Molecular and Cell Biology
Kaylynn is an undergraduate Molecular and Cell Biology major at UC Berkeley passionate about global health and sustainable solutions for health disparities, particularly in vulnerable populations. She became interested in waterborne diseases after witnessing the impact of contaminated water firsthand during global medical mission trips. Drawn to the Pickering Lab’s work on in-line chlorination and maternal and neonatal health, she hopes to contribute her skills in health education and graphic design. She enjoys playing tennis, foosball, practicing instruments, and exploring cafes in her free time.

June Kim
UG Biology & Public Health

Natalie Leyva
UG, BioE

Lab Alumni

Katya Cherukumilli, Phd


Julie Powers, PhD
CA State Water Board

Syed Anjerul Islam, MS
Current: PhD Student, UNC Chapel Hill

Eve Abraha, BS
Undergraduate

Aathavan Senthilkumar
UG, Mechanical Engineering

Pooja Patel, MS

Jacqueline Paredes-Kao

Rui Xin (Louise) Tham

Seojin Choi

Yoshika Crider
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota


Elana Chan, BS
Current: Phd Student, CEE, Stanford University

Katie Liu

Abby Harvey Paulos, PhD
Current: Postdoc Emory University

Shruteek Mairal
Undergraduate in CBE

Sanaiya Islam, MS
PhD Student, USC

Mark Kiffe, MS

Kaylee Martin
PhD Student, U of Washington

Neha Lingam

Hillary Khuu


Heather Amato, PhD

Jenna Swarthout, PhD
Project, Community and Outreach manager, MDAnalysis

Molly Cantrell, MS
Current: Centers for Disease Control

Scarlet Bliss, MS
Current: Tracking California

Michael Harris, PhD

Adantchede Louis Zannou, MS

Nick Nola, MS

Esher Mburu

Isabella Reyes
