Principal Investigator

Heather K. Amato

I'm an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in the Department of Global, Environmental and Occupational Health.

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I was previously a Postdoctoral Researcher in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in the Pickering Lab. I received my PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health with Jay Graham, and was an NIH T32 Biomedical Big Data Fellow.

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To de-stress, I enjoy hiking with my partner, Chris, and our son; playing soccer; watching GBBO; and paddle boarding with my dogs.

PhD Student

Claire Keanna

Claire Keanna is a first-year PhD student in Environmental Health Sciences. She obtained a BA in Biology and an MPH from Case Western Reserve University in 2023.

Her research interests include infectious disease transmission and surveillance, especially within the contexts of agriculture and One Health.

In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, crocheting, and traveling. 

PhD Student

Sneha Shrestha

Sneha is a first-year PhD student in Environmental Health Sciences at UMD. She was previously a Clinical Laboratory Technician and holds Bachelors of Science in Medical Laboratory Technology from the Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine in Nepal.

Her research interests include infectious diseases, surveillance methods for pathogen detection, antimicrobial resistance and exploring potentials of bacteriophages. She is particularly interested in innovative approaches to monitoring and controlling the spread of infectious agents in both environmental and clinical settings.

MS Student

Bukola Omena-Okpowe

Bukola is an MS student in the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health at the University of Maryland. Her previous research delved into developing strategies for converting agricultural waste into valuable products.

She is interested in using microbiological and molecular tools and a One Health approach to assess how sanitation and hygiene impact public and environmental health by tracking antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.

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Bukola holds a BS in Microbiology from the Federal University ofTechnology, Akure, Nigeria, and an MPH from Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Neisha Islam

Neisha Islam is an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland. She is majoring in Public Health Science and minoring in Professional Writing with the hope of earning a MPH degree with a focus on environmental health.

Neisha is contributing to a pilot study on antimicrobial resistance on Maryland dairy farms.

In addition to working in the TRACE Lab, she enjoys painting, traveling, and going on nature walks. Neisha also helped design our beautiful lab logo!

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Ananth Kudaravalli

Ananth is a junior at the University of Maryland majoring in Global Health. His previous research explored alginate/agarose encapsulation as a method of storage, transportation, and delivery of bacteriophages.

Currently, he is involved in a pilot study investigating of antimicrobial resistance in dairy farm environments in Maryland.

He plans to pursue a medical degree in the future to further advocate for and treat marginalized patients.