About Us

Jason Vogel, Ph.D., P.E.

Director & Professor

jason.vogel@ou.edu

For more than 25 years, Dr. Jason Vogel, P.E. has worked to facilitate and develop solutions for water issues throughout the Great Plains of the United States and beyond. He has served as Director of the Oklahoma Water Survey at the University of Oklahoma (OU) since June 2017. In addition to his responsibilities as Director, Vogel is a Professor in the OU School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. Prior to joining OU, he held faculty and research positions at Oklahoma State University in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering and at the U.S. Geological Survey, respectively. 

Since the the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vogel has led a team that has developed into the preeminent source for wastewater-based epidemiology in Oklahoma. In addition to his work on sewage surveillance, he has also developed an award-winning stormwater and stream management research and outreach program and is recognized as one of the leading experts in low-impact development stormwater management systems in the region. 

Vogel has served the water sector at the national, state and local levels for a variety of groups, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, the American Ecological Engineering Society, and the Oklahoma Clean Lakes and Watersheds Association.

Education:

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln, B.S., Biological Systems Engineering, 1995
• Texas A&M University, M.S., Agricultural Engineering, 1997
• Oklahoma State University, Ph.D., Biosystems Engineering, 2001

Keith Strevett, Ph.D.

Associate Director & Professor

Strevett@ou.edu

Keith Strevett is a Professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Oklahoma.  His experience includes water quality modeling and studies; development of watershed management plans; non-point source water quality management, fluvial geomorphology relationship with land use studies and natural channel design through fluvial geomorphology studies. He has previously worked for local agencies and as an external consultant to provide experience in water quality model development with extensive knowledge of water quality and water quantity field methods, including Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) developments. He has also provided external reviews for numerous water quality projects.  These projects focused on stream restoration, development of TMDLs and implementation plans, water quality modeling, the development of compliance strategies, adn development of water quality deterioration indicators.

Education:

• B.S., Microbiology and Public Health
• B.S., Civil Engineering
• Ph.D., Environmental Engineering

Kristen K Shelton, Ph.D.

Assistant Director

Kristen.k.shelton-1@ou.edu

Richard M. Zamor, Ph.D.

Microbiology Laboratory Lead

rmzamor@ou.edu

Dr. Richard Zamor is an aquatic ecologist that has spent over 20 years investigating the applied problems (e.g, harmful algal blooms, invasive species, etc…) within aquatic ecosystems. Prior to joining the Oklahoma Water Survey, Rich was an assistant professor at Northeastern State University where he was part of the initiative to start an Aquatic Sciences degree program. Prior to that, he served as a watershed ecologist and research director for four years for the Grand River Dam Authority. In his current role, Rich works with the faculty and staff at the University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Water Survey, and the Oklahoma water community to develop and implement effective aquatic research and monitoring efforts to protect and preserve Oklahoma’s water resources.

Area(s) of research: Aquatic Ecology, Community Ecology, Invasive Species, Harmful Algal Blooms

Education:

• University of Oklahoma, B.S., Cum laude, Zoology, 2002
• University of Georgia, M.S., Forest Resources (Fish Ecology), 2005
• University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2013

Gilson J. Sanchez, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

sanchez.gj@ou.edu

Dr. Sanchez's research goal is to understand how chromatin architecture is maintained in human cells and what contributes to its breakdown during aging and in diseases. Specifically, his aim is to characterize how non-coding RNAs and transcription factors contribute to the upkeep of the epigenetic landscape to modulate gene expression.

Education:

• University of California-Riverside, B.S., Biological Sciences
• University of Colorado-Boulder, Ph.D. Chemistry and Biochemistry
• University of Michigan, Postdoctoral Research, Human/Medical Genetics
• University of Colorado-Boulder, Postdoctoral Research, BioFrontiers Institute, Bioinformatics

Caitlin Miller M.S.

Program Coordinator & Research Scientist

caitlin.miller@ou.edu

Caitlin is a research scientist with areas of interest including wetlands, biodiversity in aquatic habitats, and wastewater-based epidemiology.  She excels in collaborative environments and is heavily involved in research undertakings with the team.  Recently, Caitlin has been focused on growing her skills as a microbiology lab scientist, in addition to making impacts as a leader in the environmental science research field.

Education:

• Oklahoma State University, B.S., Environmental Science 
• Oklahoma State University, M.S., Environmental Science

Changjie Cai, Ph.D.

Researcher and Assistant Professor

Changjie-Cai@ouhsc.edu

Dr. Changjie Cai is the founding Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center in U.S. Southern Great Plains, which is a core Center in the Hudson College of Public Health at the OUHSC. He is the PI of a biosafety level 2 lab (BSL2), which is a core research lab in the College. His background is Meteorology and Occupational and Environmental Health. Research in Dr. Cai’s lab focuses on three directions: (1) identifying and assessing exposure to hazards (e.g., aerosols, bioaerosols, gases, etc.) and their controls; (2) integrating advanced techniques (e.g., machine-learning, advanced materials) into Occupational and Environmental Health fields; (3) studying air pollutants and their climate effects using atmospheric dynamic models (e.g., WRF-Chem); and (4) environmental equity and sustainability.

Research Interests: Identify and assess exposure to hazards (e.g. aerosols, bioaerosols, gases, etc.) and their controls.  Integrate advancted techniques into Occupational and Environmental Health fields. Study air pollutants and their climate effects using atmospheric dynamic models (e.g., WRF-Chem). Conduct community-engaged studies to advance environmental equity and sustainability.

Education:

• Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, B.S., Atmospheric Science, 2009
• North Carolina State University, M.S., Atmospheric Science, 2013
• University of Iowa, Ph.D., Occupational & Environmental Health, 2018

Shang Gao, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Watershed Management and Ecohydrology

shanggao@arizona.edu

Dr. Shang Gao serves as Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Before joining the University of Arizona, Shang worked at the University of Oklahoma (OU) as a postdoctoral research associate. He obtained his Ph.D. in civil engineering at University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). By training, Dr. Gao is a hydrologist studying two ends of the hydrologic spectrum, i.e., floods and droughts. He combinedly utilizes hydrologic models, remote sensing observations, and data-driven methods to understand the surface water dynamics. He has been actively working with federal agencies, municipal water utilities, and native indigenous communities to address water-related issues.

Research Interests: Hydro-modeling and remote sensing to study hydrologic extremes, e.g., storms, floods, and droughts, their spatiotemporal variabilities and correspondong natural and anthropogenic drivers, as well as their changes under a warming climate.

Education:

• Nankai University, Tianjin, China, B.S., Environmental Science, 2011
• UC Irvine, M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2013
• University of Texas at Arlington, Ph.D., Water Resource Engineering, 2019

Caitlin Hodges, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor of Critical Zone Geoscience

chodges@ou.edu

Projects worked at OWS: Stormwater management using bioretention cells, compost filter sock erosion control

Dr. Caitlin Hodges is a critical zone geoscientist who joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma's School of Geosciences in Fall 2021. Her research focuses on the interface between soil science and biogeochemistry, and she pursues fundamental research in soil carbon cycle- mineral weathering feedbacks and redox cycling in soils. She uses this fundamental research on soils to understand the role soils play in modulating the global carbon cycle and terrestrial inputs (pollutant fertilizers, heavy metals, etc.) to surface waters.

Area of research: Novel methods for in situ measurement of redox cycling in soils, persistence of soil inorganic carbon, iron minerals in the environment, vadose zone biogeochemistry, impacts of mineral weathering and other abiotic processes on soil carbon fluxes, soil biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene

Education:

• University of Georgia, B.S.E.S., Water and Soil Resources, 2014
• University of Georgia, M.S., Ecology, 2017
• Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D., Soil Science and Biogeochemistry, 2021

Katrin Gaardbo Kuhn, MSc MBBS Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Hudson College of Public Health

Katrin-Kuhn@ouhsc.edu

Projects worked at OWS: Founder and Principal Investigator for the Wastewater Surveillance Team.

Katrin Kuhn has more than 20 years’ experience in infectious disease epidemiology. Dr. Kuhn was one of the original founders of the Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where she completed her postgraduate degrees and worked for several years. Following this, she acted as a senior epidemiologist at the national Danish institute of infectious diseases in charge of One Health collaborations, national surveillance of Campylobacter and Shigella and as principal investigator on numerous outbreak investigations. Since transitioning to Oklahoma in 2020, she has become one of the founders of the University of Oklahoma Wastewater Surveillance Team which monitors for infectious pathogens in wastewater throughout the State of Oklahoma. In addition to her work in the US, Katrin is also an external professor in Clinical Trials education at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Katrin has served as an expert consultant on infectious diseases and climate change for the World Health Organization and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well as a nominated expert on food-and waterborne diseases and antimicrobial resistance for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Area of Research: Dr. Kuhn has a special interest in the interaction between infectious diseases and the environment, focusing on One Health topics. She has dedicated most of her career to understanding how we can better understand infectious diseases using techniques such as environmentally driven predictive modeling and novel surveillance approaches.

Education:

• University of London, B.S., Zoology
• University of Copenhagen, B.S., Medicine
• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, M.S., Medical Parisitology
• London School of Hygience & Tropical Medicine, Ph.D., Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Aikaterini P. Kyprioti, Ph.D.

Researcher and Assistant Professor

akypriot@ou.edu 

Aikaterini focuses her educational and research efforts on structural engineering and infrastructure response against natural hazards, with an emphasis on developing computationally efficient methods to perform risk and reliability analysis and quantify uncertainty in engineering systems leveraging state of the art AI/ML techniques. Her research includes topics in earthquake engineering infrastructure response, tropical cyclone risk assessment, and impact of weather extreme events like inland and coastal flooding on infrastructure. The ultimate aim of her research is to develop novel methods to inform new infrastructure designs and/or update old ones, to improve their resilience and performance under a changing climate.

She teaches basic structural analysis and design courses at the undergraduate level and uncertainty quantification and advanced probability and statistics, including Machine Learning techniques at the graduate level.

Research Interests: Efficient coastal hazard risk estimation and mitigation, infrastructure reliability and sustainability assessments, improvement of community level structural resiliency against natural hazards, multi-hazard risk assessment, development of efficient data-driven tools using computational statistics for solving engineering problems.

Education:

• Aristotle University-Greece, B.S., 2009-2014
• Aristotle University-Greece, M.S., 2015-2016
• Notre Dame, M.S., 2019-2022
• Notre Dame, Ph.D., 2017-2022

Dr. Bradley S. Stevenson, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor

Bradley.Stevenson@ou.edu

Research areas: Microbiology, Molecular and Cellular biology, Environmental Science, Ecology, Anaerobic Microbiology

Research interests: Microbial life represents the overwhelming majority of biological diversity on our planet. Most microbially-driven processes are polymicrobial, meaning that they are the function of complex assemblages of organisms that compete, coexist, and cooperate. My research uses powerful molecular tools and cultivation-based approaches to study microbial assemblages, novel microorganisms, and their roles in decomposition of organic substrates, corrosion of metal surfaces, degradation of hydrocarbon, production of biofuels, and the production of secondary metabolites.

Education:

• Miami University-Oxford, OH, B.A., 1992
• Michigan State University, Ph.D., 1993-2000
• Michigan State University, Postdoc, 2000-2003
• Michigan State University, Postdoc, Agouron Institute Geobiology Postdoctoral fellow, 2003-2005 

Ralph S. Tanner, Ph.D.

Researcher and Professor

rtanner@ou.edu

Tanner Lab Website

Research areas:  Applied Microbial Physiology, Anaerobic Microbiology, Bioenergy

Research interests:  The laboratory’s research currently focuses on bioenergy, including bioethanol, biobutanol, biohydrogen and methane. I’ve had experience in these areas in both the private and academic sectors since 1975 (and have the world’s most continuous experience with techniques for modern anaerobic microbiology). Related applied research areas include disinfectants/biocides, water/wastewater microbiology and water treatment, and microbially-influenced corrosion. Another outcome of this work has been the discovery and microbial systematics of a number of new species and genera of bacteria, with publications since 1977.

Education:

• University of Massachusetts, B.S., Microbiology, 1975
• University of Illinois, M.S., Microbiology, 1977
• University of Illinois, Ph.D., Microbiology, 1982
• Celanese Chemical Co., Inc., Research Microbiologist, 1982-1983
• Rohm & Haas Co., Senior Research Microbiologist, 1983-1986

Emir Duzelic

Macy Henderson

University of Oklahoma, B.S., Chemistry and Biochemistry

Macy.Henderson-1@ou.edu

Madelynn G. Henderson 

B.S. Microbiology University of Oklahoma; Masters in Epidemiology Spring 2025 OUHSC

madelynn.g.henderson-1@ou.edu

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology

Chinomso Ibe

Hayden Manuel

California State University-Dominguez Hills, B.S., Biology

Hayden.A.Manuel-1@ou.edu

Hayden has 10+ years background in drug testing data review and release of results. He is also experienced in troubleshooting analytical equipment errors and discrepancies in acceptance criteria of assays. Hayden's laboratory expertise supports the water survey team in analyzing the  composition of water samples and researching impacts to humans and environmental systems.

Yaseen Alwazzan

Graduate Research Assistant

yal@ou.edu

B.S. Enviromental Engineering 2023

M.S. Environmental Engineering 2025

Projects Worked on: Bacteria, CFS, SARS-COV-2

Matt Varriale

matthew.d.varriale-1@ou.edu

Bachelors in Environmental Science University of Oklahoma 2023 

Graduate Environmental Science student

Projects worked on at OWS: OKC and Statewide network wastewater sampling, Wastewater data analysis team, DEQ/USGS Bacteria, with current graduate research focusing on EPSCoR Bioretention Cells. 

Nathaniel S. Wright

Graduate Research Assistant

nathaniel.s.wright-1@ou.edu

University of Oklahoma, B.S. Enviromental Science 2023

University of Oklahoma, M.S Enviromental Science 2025

Compost filter sock project

Jake McDoulett

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2020

Environmental Engineering Student

jacob.mcdoulett@ou.edu

Projects: In Stream Structures, Floating Wetlands, OU Campus/OKC/Tulsa/Statewide Wastewater, Compost Filter Sock/Silt Dike/Silt Fence, Bacteria, GRDA Bioretention Cells/EPSCOR, USGS Bacteria/PIPP 

Kyle Bohanan

Kylebohanan@ou.edu

Microbiology B.S.

PIPP Project, omiRBD Project

Gabriel Timmerman

Undergraduate Research Assistant since June 2022

Environmental Design/Regional and City Planning Student

Gabriel.A.Timmerman-1@ou.edu

Dayana Macias Yoguez

Undergraduate Research Assistant since January 2022

dayana.macias91@ou.edu

AAS Applied Science, Tulsa Community College

Field of study B.S. Chemical Engineering University of Oklahoma 2026

Projects worked at OWS: Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and gastrointestinal pathogens in wastewater, EPSCoR Bioretention Cells, ODOT CFS, OU Campus/OKC/Tulsa/Statewide Wastewater, PIPP, Dashboards, H2O website editor.

John G. Jandebeur

Undergraduate Research Assistant since January 2023

gjandebeur@ou.edu

Major: Studying Chemical Biosciences & Environmental Studies (Projected Spring 2025)

Projects at OWS: Help with stream monitoring and wastewater transportation efforts 

Cheyenne Kyle

Undergraduate Research Assistant

cheyenne.a.kyle@ou.edu

Environmental Science Student

Projects: Wastewater sampling

Jennifer Albert

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Environmental Design/Landscape Architecture Student

jalbert2@ou.edu 

Jessica Steele

Undergraduate Research Assistant & Grant Writer

Environmental Design/ Landscape Architecture Student

Jess@ou.edu 

Jessica is passionate about intentional designs that contribute to climate adaptation efforts and sustainable stormwater solutions.  Her areas of focus center around effective use of landscapes and biophilic designs that promote sustainable systems and resource conservation. Specific interests include low-impact designs and innovative solutions to climate hazards, such as flooding and urban heat island effects, and phytoremediation. 

Meghana Nuthi

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Meghana.Nuthi-1@ou.edu 

Fawwaz Ayodele

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Fawwaz.B.Ayodele-1@ou.edu 

Daniel Solander

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Daniel.G.Solander-1@ou.edu