Master’s Defense: “Methods Development for SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Surveillance” by Leah Kelly (Poretsky Lab)
June 30, 2023
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location
SELE 4289
Calendar
Download iCal FilePlease join us June 30th, 2023 at 2pm in SELE 4289 for Leah Kelly's master's thesis defense.
Abstract:
Wastewater surveillance has proven to be a useful tool to monitor pathogens such as Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19). Wastewater testing is a nonintrusive way to survey the whole population contributing to the sewershed and monitor COVID-19 levels over time. As the pandemic has persisted, laboratory methods to monitor SARS-CoV-2 RNA such as RT-qPCR and dPCR have transitioned and improved as better technology has been developed. Maintaining data continuity is crucial for labs undergoing a method transition so they are able to accurately assess COVID-19 levels over time and compare RNA detection values to public health data. In this study, we describe a lab transition between the Shrestha and Poretsky labs. Wastewater samples were collected across the Chicagoland area and ran in both labs to collect RT-qPCR and dPCR data for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection. Researchers evaluated a variety of models to relate the RNA measurements from both labs and found that a Log-Log model was most appropriate to relate both datasets after removing outliers and inconsistent points to improve model performance. This study demonstrates that data continuity can be maintained during a transition of laboratory methods if the labs maintain a period of overlap of both methods and construct a model to relate the datasets.
Date posted
Jun 8, 2023
Date updated
Jun 8, 2023