Dr. Christine Moe’s Research Staff
Stephen Hilton, MS, MSE, Information Analyst III – Stephen is a public health and development professional with experience in wastewater monitoring and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). At the Center for Global Safe WASH, he has frequently managed data, disseminated results, and helped build data management systems for wastewater monitoring efforts for projects in the U.S., Ghana, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Nepal. Stephen also has experience advocating for initiatives that promote water, sanitation, and hygiene and preventing neglected tropical diseases. Stephen has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Geosciences from Texas A&M University, and a Master’s in Environmental Engineering as well as Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan.

Suraja Raj, MPH, Associate Director of Research Projects – Suraja is a public health and development professional with 12 years of experience in strategic planning, project management, supervision, and designing and implementing applied research in international settings. She has been with the SaniPath study at the Center for Global Safe WASH at Emory University for 10 years and during that time led the development of the SaniPath Tool platform that guides users through the SaniPath methodology and can collect and manage data, and auto generate results and reports. Suraja has strong technical expertise in the areas of water, sanitation, and hygiene, monitoring and evaluation, and quantitative and qualitative data collection. She has extensive field experience and has led training on the SaniPath methodology and managed field teams in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Additionally, she has worked on setting up environmental and wastewater surveillance programs for SARS-CoV-2 and other enteric diseases including Typhoid and Cholera in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Prior to her work on SaniPath, Suraja worked in the areas of neglected tropical diseases, One Health, chronic diseases, and nutrition.

Orlando Sablon, III, MS, Lead Research Specialist, Moe Lab – Orlando  is the lead research specialist and laboratory manager of the Moe Lab at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. He has a strong molecular biology background in bacteriology, parasitology, and virology. He obtained a dual Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and Microbiology / Molecular biology along with a Master of Science in Biotechnology.  Orlando is also qualified as a Technologist in Molecular Biology under the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP). He completed one year of research studying Plasmodium falciparum. Orlando also participated as a guest research scientist at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researching Hepatitis A. Laboratory project manager and lead research scientist overseeing several groups while managing thirteen researchers at Emory University in the Rollins School of Public Health. A project lead on assay development involving digital PCR, real-time qPCR, and traditional PCR for wastewater surveillance domestically and internationally. Orlando also proudly served in the United States Navy earning the meritorious Navy/Marine Achievement Medal while leading a team of 5 technicians to full operational capability on a unoperational missile system during a time of war.

Habib Yakubu, MSPH, Associate Director of Research Projects – Habib is a public health and development professional with experience in environmental health, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge translation for policy action. He has over 20 years of experience in environmental health research and programming particularly waterborne and foodborne disease in community and healthcare settings. He spearheaded the SaniPath formative exposure assessment in Ghana, helped develop and pilot the SaniPath Tool, led trainings in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and led advocacy and knowledge translation efforts. He is also engaged in research to assess exposure to campylobacter infections in rural Ethiopia. Additionally, he is working to understand how exposure assessments can be used to inform WASH and vaccine interventions for Cholera in Kenya. He co-developed the WASHCON tool for the assessment of WASH conditions in healthcare facilities and led research into WASH in Healthcare facilities studies in Uganda, Ghana, and Ethiopia. Habib is leading environmental surveillance for multiple pathogens including SARS-COV-2 research in Ghana to build capacity and strengthen pandemic preparedness of public health agencies.

Kathleen “Kat” Peters, WASH Certificate Program Coordinator, Research Administrative Assistant, POC CGSW – Kat  has more than 30 years of experience working in the public, private and academic sectors. She has been working in public health since 2000 and at the Rollins School of Public Health since 2006. She currently supports the faculty and research staff of the Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) as the Research Administrative Assistant. She is also the WASH Certificate Program Coordinator and POC for the Center for Global Safe WASH. Please contact her at kpeter5@emory.edu if you would like information about the WASH Certificate Program or would like more information about the Center for Global Safe WASH

EDGE EMORY – Led by Dr. Bethany Caruso and Dr. Sheela Sinharoy
Research Team
Allison Salinger, MPH – Allison received a Master of Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health in Global Health with a certificate in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in 2018 as well as a Bachelor of Health Science in Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2016. She has extensive experience in mixed <
tool development and data analysis with a special interest in structural equation modeling. Topically, her work focuses on WASH, gender, and social constructs (e.g., collective efficacy, social capital, empowerment, self-efficacy, etc.). Currently, Allison is working on multiple randomized controlled trials including Revitalizing Informal Settlements and their Environment (RISE) in Suva, Fiji and Makassar, Indonesia as well as Climate-Resilient Odisha Produce Study (CROPS) in Odisha, India. Prior to holding her current role in the Hubert Department of Global Health, Allison has worked in research and learning roles for CARE’s Water Team, WaterAid Cambodia, and the CDC’s Malaria Branch.

Thea Mink received her Master of Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health in Global Health and joined the EDGE team in 2022. With EDGE, she has contributed to the Measuring Urban Sanitation and Empowerment and Strong Women, Strong World projects, with a focus on WASH, gender, physical and mental health, and process evaluation for program learning and adaptation. Her mixed methods research experience includes tool development, protocol design, and data management and analysis. Before working with EDGE, Thea graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Tufts University and worked in community-engaged development and state governance.

Freeman Research – Dr. Matt Freeman’s Research Website

Jedidiah Snyder, MPH, Lead Public Health Program Associate: Jedidiah is an environmental engineer and public health professional with a passion for international development – particularly programs focused on water, sanitation and hygiene.

 Wolfe Lab Website – Dr. Marlene Wolfe’s Research Website

CGSW Fellows include the doctoral and post-doctoral trainees working with CGSW Faculty.  Their biographies and research interests are listed below.

Valerie Bauza, Ph.D, Clasen Research Group  – Valerie earned a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and has experience working on water and sanitation projects in the USA, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. Valerie is interested in research that expands understanding of critical sources and transmission pathways for fecal contamination in low-income settings, and her current projects primarily focus on practices and interventions related to child feces management.

Erika Canda, MPH, Public Health Program Associate: PhD Student, Freeman Research Group: Erika is pursuing a PhD in Global Health. Her research focuses on strengthening the implementation of school and community health interventions, with interests in WASH, food safety, and implementation research to improve health outcomes in low-resource settings

Rina Das, PhD MBBS, MPH, Postdoctoral Researcher, Freeman Research Group:  Rina is a Postdoctoral Researcher whose work focuses on enteric infectious diseases, WASH, the gut microbiome, maternal and child nutrition, and clinical trials.

Alyson Kidd, is a Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases RISE Fellow at Emory University. Her work focuses on wastewater-based epidemiology, pathogen sequencing, and genomic surveillance of infectious diseases. She supports laboratory and bioinformatics workflows for wastewater surveillance and applies next-generation sequencing approaches to study viral evolution and inform public health monitoring efforts. She received her M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Devi Prasad, MPH – PhD Student, Freeman Research Group: Devi is pursuing a PhD in Global Health with a focus on improving public health outcomes. Her research interests include enhancing service delivery of interventions and applying implementation science frameworks to optimize impact.

Brandie Banner Shackelford, MSPH – PhD Candidate: Brandie is a PhD Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences. Before joining Emory, Brandie spent five years working for global WASH organizations, most recently serving as an Associate WASH Officer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Malawi. Her dissertation focuses on the Climate Resilient Odisha Produce Study, a water‑sensitive home‑gardening randomized controlled trial aimed at improving nutritional outcomes and water security in rural India.

Kellin Slater, PhD – Postdoctoral Researcher, Freeman Research Group: Kellin is an environmental epidemiologist whose research focuses on the health impacts of environmental exposures. She brings expertise in advanced quantitative methods, epidemiologic study design, and mixed-methods approaches to evaluate interventions at the intersection of environment and public health. She currently works in the Freeman Research Group

Lyvannak Sam, MPH, PhD Student, Freeman Research Group: Vannak is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Health at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Trained in medicine and pediatrics in Cambodia, he is interested in environmental health, household air pollution, WASH, and implementation research. He supports mixed-methods research and field implementation in Cambodia.