Transforming wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) into a long-term piece of public health infrastructure can seem daunting at first. However, public-private partnerships can be a key catalyst in that transformation, as highlighted in the PREVENT Pandemics Act. Collaborating on WBE programs with Biobot, a trusted CDC partner, can help public health experts conserve time and resources, mitigate employee burnout, and ultimately focus on saving lives.
The following areas of expertise exhibit how Biobot builds top-tier wastewater programs:
Program Design and Management
Biobot helps design tailor-made wastewater surveillance programs that balance partners’ monitoring goals with their existing infrastructure.
Biobot assists with program operations from start-to-finish, i.e. identifying ideal surveillance locations, recruiting wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) via phone/email, hosting onboarding webinars, and managing program communications.
Laboratory Services
Biobot’s biology and chemistry laboratory in Cambridge, MA is an innovative hub for high-throughput wastewater testing and cutting-edge research and development.
Biobot’s lab has tested 65,000+ samples from 50+ states and territories, generating data on SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, Mpox, high-risk substances (such as opioids), and many other public health risks.
Reporting and Data Interpretation
Biobot’s growing suite of customer resources and data-sharing pathways––pdf reports, national dashboard, CSV files, personalized customer dashboards––make wastewater data approachable and actionable.
Biobot has the largest commercial wastewater data repository in the world; Biobot’s uniform methodologies thus enable an unmatched level of data comparability.
Training and Epidemiology Support
Biobot’s Data Science, Epidemiology, and Customer Experience teams have decades of public health experience that is focused on empowering communities to engage with and take action on wastewater data.
Biobot schedules check-ins and “result walkthrough calls” with customers, and can be leveraged as a speaker at community events, or as a public communications resource.
Wastewater Treatment Facility Partnerships
Biobot intentionally cultivates strong relationships with wastewater treatment facility staff to ensure they feel capable, connected, and contributing to public health good.
Biobot’s clear workflows easily integrate into existing WWTF responsibilities.