Microbiologist
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
Dr. Joshua Steele is a microbiologist specializing in environmental microbiology, specifically identifying and tracking pathogens and naturally-occurring microbes in wastewater, coastal ocean water, and coastal watersheds using cutting edge molecular techniques (next generation sequencing and digital PCR). His research focuses on developing methods to detect and track human-associated bacteria and viruses and identify their sources in stormwater and coastal water, developing and standardizing methods for wastewater based epidemiology of pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, applying molecular techniques to track antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater and the environment, and using bioinformatics tools to link eDNA from natural populations to ecosystem health. He serves on the Wastewater Based Epidemiology Committee of the California Water Quality Montioring Council. While at the California Institute of Technology, he focused on applying next-generation sequencing, metagenomics, metaproteomics, and biogeochemical rate measurements to study deep-sea methane seep microbial communities.
He received his Ph.D. in biological oceanography from the University of Southern California and his B.S. in molecular biology from the University of California, San Diego. He joined SCCWRP in January 2014.
Developing Novel Indicators of Sewage Collection Systems for Wet Weather Source Tracking
Monday, May 22, 2023
6:00 PM – 6:15 PM PDT