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A collaborative team of WashU scholars has obtained a five-year $3.6 million funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance its research on the impacts of flooding on human health in communities located in the Mississippi Delta and the St. Louis Metro East area of Illinois.
The Growing Convergence Research grant — initially providing $1.2 million with the possibility of an additional $2.4 million in subsequent years — will enable the team to establish a thorough dataset and perform geospatial analysis to investigate the connections between flooding, pathogen levels, and infection risk.
“This funding is not focused on 100-year floods that prompt FEMA intervention,” noted Theresa Gildner, an assistant professor of anthropology and lead investigator of the project. “Our emphasis is on nuisance flooding that significantly affects people’s daily lives.”
The group consists of researchers from four Arts & Sciences departments: Gildner in anthropology; Liz Mallott, an assistant professor of biology; Claire Masteller, an assistant professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences; and Bo Li, the Stanley A. Sawyer Professor of Statistics & Data Science. Additionally, Fangqiong Ling, an assistant professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, serves as a co-principal investigator.
Gildner, Mallott, and Masteller have collaborated since 2023 after receiving a seed grant from Arts & Sciences’ Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Sciences (TRIADS) to investigate the interconnected dangers of floods and infectious diseases in Cahokia Heights, a neighborhood merely 20 minutes east of the Danforth Campus. When it rains, flooding causes sewage to overflow into residents’ homes, resulting in environmental and health issues.
Initial funding from TRIADS empowered the team to collect preliminary data revealing significant indications of parasitic and bacterial infections among Cahokia Heights residents. They also continued flood monitoring efforts throughout the community, initiated by Masteller’s group in 2020, and developed a model to foresee future floods. These findings enabled a correlation between the frequency and intensity of flood exposure and resident health, gut microbiome composition, and pathogens in the soil.
One such bacterial pathogen, H. pylori, can lead to ulcers and heighten the risk of specific cancers in severe instances. Gildner’s research has also recorded elevated levels of intestinal inflammation, a clear indication that contamination is having detrimental effects.
Through a partnership with Mallott, the team has been capable of determining how floodwater exposure influences an individual’s microbiome, which comprises the trillions of gut bacteria crucial for health and disease. She is currently gathering soil samples from across Cahokia Heights to identify pathogenic bacteria and other pollutants that may elucidate why floodwater is so detrimental to human gut health.
‘We understand that Cahokia Heights is not the sole community affected by these challenges, and that these issues will persist with climate change, worsening storms and flooding throughout the U.S. in the coming years.’
— Theresa Gildner
Masteller, a geoscientist, has examined flooding risks down to individual blocks, enabling the identification and prediction of specific households most likely to suffer from sewage contamination. Her community-involved research methodology has highlighted the widespread nature of flooding and its impact on residents. Meanwhile, Ling, an authority on microbial biofilms and water system safety, is investigating which pathogens might be present in residents’ tap water.
With Li’s inclusion — a leading specialist in big data related to rainfall, flooding, and various climate aspects — the team will advance their research initiatives. Li will leverage her statistical expertise to project future flooding threats and evaluate the potential benefits of infrastructure upgrades.
“By merging our diverse skill sets, we can approach this question from fresh perspectives and generate new datasets that integrate various aspects from our respective fields, answering these questions in more impactful ways,” Gildner remarked.
The NSF grant will facilitate the creation of a detailed database, advanced statistical modeling, and the development of an interactive risk map that will assist communities in assessing their vulnerabilities and considering mitigation strategies. The team also plans to offer training workshops, citizen science projects, and publicly available tools designed to help predict and manage flood-related health threats nationwide.
“We recognize that Cahokia Heights isn’t the only area confronting these challenges, and that conditions will continue to deteriorate with climate change, exacerbating storms and flooding across the U.S. in the future,” Gildner stated. “Academics possess the resources, expertise, and laboratories to assist these communities — particularly in lower-resource regions like Cahokia Heights — in evaluating the issues confronting them and providing data they can utilize to tackle social challenges.”
Originally published on the Ampersand website
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