Member Highlight: Drs. Eric Boerwinkle and Joseph F. Petrosino
GC-CPEH Full Members Advance Early Detection of Measles Through Wastewater Surveillance
GC-CPEH Full Members Dr. Eric Boerwinkle (UTHealth Houston School of Public Health) and Dr. Joseph F. Petrosino (Baylor College of Medicine) played key roles in a landmark study that identified the measles virus in Houston wastewater weeks before any clinical cases were reported. This work highlights the power of cross-institutional collaboration and the promise of wastewater-based surveillance as a public health early warning system.
The outbreak detection program, launched in partnership with researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, UTHealth Houston, the Houston Health Department, and Rice University, uses advanced sequencing techniques to track disease-causing viruses in wastewater. In early January 2025, samples collected from Houston’s wastewater system revealed the presence of the measles virus—well before the first clinical cases were officially recorded.
“This work underscores the ability of sophisticated wastewater analyses to serve as an early detection system benefitting public health, healthcare, and communities,” said Dr. Boerwinkle, Dean of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.
Their findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, demonstrate how environmental health science and genomic technologies can work hand-in-hand to enhance outbreak preparedness and response—an approach central to GC-CPEH’s mission.