My interest in pathogens spans two disparate areas

Pathogen detection and control in drinking water and medical applications.

My interest in pathogens spans two disparate areas. First, my civil engineering roots led to an interest in pathogen detection and control in drinking water systems. In this area we have worked with the chlorine-resistant opportunistic pathogen, Legionalla, which is the causative agent in Legionnaires’ disease. Legionella control is most critical in dedicated water systems serving sensitive sub-populations such as hospitals and nursing homes. This work was focused on control methods and included a case study of implementation of chlorine dioxide at a hospital campus in central Pennsylvania as well as laboratory evaluation of the efficacy of chlorine dioxide against Legionella. Following the events of September 2001, my interests in pathogens in drinking water systems shifted to concerns regarding security. In this area my work has been on sensor networks, modeling and detection techniques. Working with colleagues in the School of Computer Science, we are focused on evaluation of existing drinking water quality databases to optimize the placement of in pipe sensors for detection of accidental or intentional pathogen intrusion in drinking water systems. On a related project in collaboration with a local company (ChemImage Corporation), we are working on Raman spectroscopy and imaging for detection of waterborne pathogens in complex environmental matrices.

My expanding interest in biomedical applications of my research has led me to also work in the area of pathogenic biofilm formation on medical implant devices. In this area my students are linking my expertise with anthropogenic chelating agents with my expertise in biofilms and pathogenic organisms. Work in this area has focused on the utilization of EDTA or combined EDTA/antibiotics for the prevention and/or treatment of biofilm infections on permanent joint implants. The target organism is Staphylococcus epidermidis. Our work has included (1) evaluation of the potential synergistic effect of EDTA and vanomycin against planktonic organisms, (2) evaluation of the potential for EDTA to prevent initial biofilm formation on stainless steel, (3) evaluation of the potential for EDTA and EDTA/vanomycin to remove biofilms formed on stainless steel, and (4) consideration of the utilization of Raman spectroscopy to identify and quantify extracellular polymeric materials in biofilms formed in the presence and absence of EDTA and/or vancomycin.

Publications in this area

Helbling, D.E., and J.M. VanBriesen (2008) "Continuous monitoring of residual chlorine concentrations in response to controlled microbial intrusions in a laboratory-scale distribution system," Water Research 42: 3162-3172. Full Text On-line. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2008.03.009

Helbing, D.E. and J.M. VanBriesen (2007) "Free chlorine demand and cell survival of microbial suspensions," Water Research, 41: 19: 4424-4434. Full text On-line. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2007.06.006

Escoriza, M.F.,, VanBriesen, J.M., Stewart, S., Maier, J. (2007) "Raman Spectroscopic Discrimination of Cell Response to Chemical and Physical Inactivation," Applied Spectroscopy, 61:8: 797-907 Full Text On-line.

Escoriza, M., VanBriesen, J.M., Stewart, S., Maier, J., Treado, P. (2006) “Raman Spectroscopy and Chemical Imaging for quantification of filtered waterborne bacteria,” Journal of Microbiological Methods, 66:1:63-72. Full Text On-Line. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2005.10.013

Escoriza, M.F., VanBriesen, J.M., Stewart, S. and Maier, J. (2006) “Studying bacterial metabolic states using Raman spectroscopy,” Applied Spectroscopy, 60, no. 9. Full Text On-Line.

Sidari, F.P., Stout, J.E. , VanBriesen, J.M. , Bowman, A.M., Grubb, D., Neuner, A., Wagener, M.M., Yu, V.L.(2004) “Keeping Legionella out of water systems,” American Water Works Association Journal 96(1): 111-119. Full Text PDF.

Ailamaki, A., Faloutsos, C., VanBriesen, J.M., Small, M., Fischbeck, P. (2003) “An environmental sensor network to determine drinking water quality and security,” Sigmod Record, 34(2), p. 47-52. Full Text PDF.

Sidari, F.P. and VanBriesen,J. M. (2002) “Evaluation of a chlorine dioxide secondary disinfection system,” Water Engineering and Management. 149(11): 29-33. Full Text PDF.

Posters and Presentations in this area

Escoriza, M., Stewart, S., Maier, J., VanBriesen, J.M., “Raman spectroscopy and digital imaging for identification and enumeration of bacteria in water,” Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting, Fall 2004. Abstract as PDF. Poster as PDF.

Kim, H-J, Dorn, V.L., VanBriesen, J.M., “The efficacy of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) against biofilm bacteria,” Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting, Fall 2004. Abstract as PDF. Poster as PDF.

Kim, H-J, VanBriesen,J.M., "EDTA and biofilms," presented at the Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Research Symposium "Meeting of the Minds," May 2004. Poster as PDF.

Escoriza, M., Steward, S., Maier, J., Dzombak, D., VanBriesen,J.M., "Raman spectroscopy for identification of bacteria in water," presented at the ICES-PITA Open House Event Fall 2002. Poster as PDF. Maria Escoriza presenting poster at PITA open house.

Sidari, F.P., Stout, J.E., VanBriesen, J.M., Bowman, A.M., Grubb, D. , Neuner, A., Yu, V.L., “Chlorine dioxide: a point of entry treatment technology for the control of Legionella in sensitive secondary distribution systems,” American Water Works Association Water Quality Technology Conference, November 2002, 1^st Place in Poster Competition. Abstract as PDF. Poster as PDF.