Emilie Sidelinger

Emilie's research seeks to investigate water quality improvement methods for rural communities by nature-based decentralized water treatment technologies, community-based advocation, and rural wastewater monitoring. The Appalachian region provides a critical focal point for study of water quality enhancement. Legacy Appalachian coal mining has increased sedimentation and leeching of toxic trace elements into the broader ecosystem and downstream user’s drinking water. Additionally, nonpoint source pollution from conventional agriculture operations is often associated with elevated levels of contaminants that include antimicrobial resistant microbes, fertilizers, and pesticides in water systems. Further, rural Appalachian’s access to regulated water utilities historically lack compared to urban counterparts. Thus, a comprehensive approach to water management and quality assessment to solve this complex diversity of challenges is needed.

She is working to promote a robust workforce of wastewater workers via comprehensive K-12 outreach, and training of early-career individuals. She is also working to continue research in monitoring and reporting of antimicrobial resistance signal genes in rural Appalachia. Finally, Emilie is developing greenhouse-scale research on engineered wetlands to investigate comprehensive and effective pollutant removal/ nitrogen cycle mitigation, with a special interest in mycoremediation incorporation into experimental designs.