Irene Xagoraraki, a professor in the MSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and her team from the Tri-County Detroit Area partnership have been awarded the 2025 Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Research. Since 2017, they have been testing municipal wastewater from the TCDA to survey for communicable diseases. The TCDA counties are Wayne, Oakland and Macomb in Southeast Michigan.
The project team includes the College of Engineering at Michigan State University, CDM Smith, the Detroit Health Department, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, the Great Lakes Water Authority, the Macomb County Health Division, and the Oakland County Health Division.
Xagoraraki initiated the partnership through a National Science Foundation Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research. This research, which started well before the COVID-19 pandemic, and has resulted in significant breakthroughs in the field of wastewater-based epidemiology, including multiple methodological advancements.
The results of the TCDA wastewater surveillance assists local health departments in preventing and managing communicable diseases, improving public health messaging, and targeting clinical testing and vaccination efforts. The data and all methodological advancements are publicly available and have been used by other communities nationwide.
The recipients were recognized at the MSU University Outreach and Engagement Awards Ceremony held on March 20, 2025.
This story originally featured on the College of Engineering website.
