The spread of infectious diseases between humans and in the environment has dramatic health and economic effects on our societies. However, modes of disease transmission are not well understood. Splash of liquids plays a major role in many modes of disease transmission, by creation of secondary bubbles or droplets which can carry and transmit pathogens. I will use high-speed imaging and non dimensional analysis to determine critical Weber numbers of secondary splash in different liquid regimes, and to study and model the movement of pathogens throughout the splash process. This model will be used to help predict how pathogens move in these systems, and provide information on how we can alter these systems to suppress pathogen transmission.

My first research experience was at the City of Hope National Medical Center on controlled assembly of biocompatible metallic nanoaggregates for applications in targeted drug delivery and imaging, which work was published in Advanced Materials. I’m very interested in the intersection of human and environmental health, and in uniting scientific and engineering approaches to tackle major problems in these fields.