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, Dr. 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, Dr. Vogel has co-led the 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. 

Dr. 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 Oklahoma Floodplain Managers Association, 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, and development of water quality deterioration indicators.

Education:

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

kristen shelton, Ph.D.

Assistant Director

kristen.shelton@ou.edu

Dr. kristen shelton is microbiologist who specializes in molecular biology and science education. They joined the Oklahoma Water Survey in the fall of 2020 as a lab technician in the Oklahoma Water Survey Microbiology Lab focusing on wastewater-based epidemiology. Prior to joining the Oklahoma Water Survey full-time in 2023, kristen was an instructor at the University of Oklahoma where they taught classes in the School of Biological Sciences (formerly the Dept. of Microbiology & Plant Biology and the Dept. of Biology), and in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education. They are also a veteran of the United States Air Force.

Area(s) of research: Human and Environmental Health, Environmental Microbiology, Science Literacy, STEM Education and Outreach, as well as Inclusion, Accessibility, & Justice in STEM.

Education:

• University of Oklahoma, B.S., Microbiology, 2013
• University of Oklahoma, M.S., Microbiology, 2017
• University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum (Science Education), 2023

Changjie Cai, Ph.D.

Researcher and Assistant Professor

Changjie-Cai@ouhsc.edu

OWS Collaboration: Air Quality at Pre-schools in Oklahoma

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.

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

OWS Collaboration: Modeling Impacts of Wastewater Reuse on Receiving Streams in the Red River Basin of Oklahoma

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.

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

OWS Collaborations: Stormwater management using bioretention cells, compost filter sock erosion control, sediment source tracking

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.

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

OWS Collaboration: Wastewater Surveillance for Infectious Diseases

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. 

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 

OWS Collaboration: Wastewater Surveillance for Infectious Diseases

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.

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

OWS Collaboration: Wastewater Surveillance for Infectious Diseases

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. Dr. Stevenson's 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

OWS Collaborations: Investigating false positives of enterococci tests; Wastewater surveillance of infectious diseases, microbial source tracking

Dr. Tanner's research currently focuses on bioenergy, including bioethanol, biobutanol, biohydrogen and methane. He has 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

Madelynn G. Henderson

M.P.H., Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma HSC, 2025

B.S., Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, 2023

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology

Jacobey King

M.S., Microbiology, University of Oklahoma,  2024

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology

Jacob McDoulett

Project Manager, Great Plains Stormwater Center of Excellence

B.S., Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, 2025

USMC Veteran, Cryptologic Linguist, 2015-2020

Projects worked at OWS: Evaluating in stream structures near bridges; Floating wetland breakwaters; Wastewater-based epidemiology; Compost filter socks; EPSCoR bioretention cells; Statewide bacteria monitoring; Enterococcus false positive evaluation; SMART stormwater systems

Kinsley Waters

Research Assistant

B.S., Biology, Southeastern Oklahoma State Unversity

Masters Candidate, Public Health Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Campus

Nitu Adhikary

Graduate Research Assistant

B.S., Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, 2023

M.S., Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, 2027 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Low-Impact Development for Flood Control

Luis Cueto

Graduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S. Biology, UNSA, Peru

Projects worked at OWS: Peru Wastewater-based Epidemiology

Ian Erwin

Graduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Environmental Science, University of New Mexico

M.S., Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, 2027 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology

Jessica Steele

Graduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Environmental Design, University of Oklahoma, 2025

M.S., Landscape Architecture, University of Oklahoma, 2026 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology; Low-Impact Development for Flood Control; EPSCoR Bioretention Cells; Pesticide treatment in nursery runoff; Website design and maintenance; SMART stormwater systems

Raktim Adhikary

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, 2028 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: SMART stormwater systems

Quincy Bui

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Pre-sonography, University of Oklahoma, 2029 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology; Microbial source tracking; OK-AIR

Logan Bundy

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Environmental Sustainability, with minors in Climate Adaptation and GIS, University of Oklahoma, 2026 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology

Zachary Cole

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Energy Management and MIS, minor in GIS, University of Oklahoma, 2027 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology; Great Plains Stormwater Center of Excellence

Alexis Gregory

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, 2026 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology

Elena Hobbs

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

Accelerated Masters Program; B.S. Environmental Design, 2027 (expected); M.S. Landscape Architecture, 2028 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS:  Great Plains Stormwater Center of Excellence

Sydney Hover

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.A. & M.P.H., Community Health, University of Oklahoma, 2028 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology; MST and SWN procedures relating to total nucleic acid isolation and setup

Chidozie Ibe

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S., Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, 2027 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology

Mabel O'Neal

Undergraduate Research Assistant since 2025

B.S.A., Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 2023

B.S., Environmental Engineering, 2027 (expected); M.S., Environmental Engineering, 2028 (expected)

Projects worked at OWS: Wastewater-based epidemiology