Since 2020, UB researchers, including students, have been testing wastewater for RNA fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 as part of a program to monitor outbreaks in Western New York. Participation in this work has been a learning experience for the students involved — and a chance to contribute to the region’s pandemic response.

The Buffalo News published a story on how Erie County's online COVID-19 dashboard will start displaying charts that track COVID-19 in area wastewater.

Ian Bradley, assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, and a core faculty member in the UB RENEW Institute, spoke to WBFO about UB’s efforts tracking COVID-19 through wastewater.

Futurity report on the UB wastewater pilot project that found that a spike in acetaminophen levels preceded a COVID-19 outbreak in Western New York, suggesting that levels of medications in wastewater could add another level to disease monitoring efforts. Ian Bradley and Yinyin Ye are co-authors of the study.

Ian Bradley and Yinyin Ye were quoted in a Science Magazine story on a UB pilot project that suggests that measuring the concentrations of medicines in wastewater could add another layer to disease-monitoring efforts.