Our Team
Asli Aslan, Ph.D, MSc.
Office Phone: 912.478.2565
Director of the Institute for Water and Health
Dr. Asli Aslan is the Founding Director of the Institute for Water and Health and Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Georgia Southern University. She has over 20 years of water research experience and leads multidisciplinary, multisectoral teams, contributing to decision-making based on scientific data. During the early years of her career, Asli oversaw the first beach restoration project of the Metropolitan City of Istanbul, Turkiye. Before joining Georgia Southern, she was a Research Assistant Professor at Michigan State University. She served as the co-director of IC-Sewage, a global scientific workgroup affiliated with the International Water Association that developed protocols for tracking microbial pollution in global water resources. During her research in Michigan, she also leads initiatives for training local health departments to adopt rapid water quality monitoring methods.
Asli serves as an advisor, reviewer, scientific committee member, and affiliated faculty in various state and federal agencies and organizations. She is the co-founder of the Water and Health Committee of the American Public Health Association and recently served at the USEPA Science Advisory Board’s Augmented Committee for Drinking Water. Asli lives in Savannah with her husband Mete and son.
Specialty Area: Water Quality, Environmental Health Sciences, Water Safety Planning in Rural and Urban Environment
Current Research: Pollution Source Tracking; Chemical and Microbiological Contaminants of Concern; Groundwater Availability and Quality
Mary Thaler
Office Phone: 912.478.6023
Project Manager
Mary is a native of coastal Georgia and grew up on the barrier island of Tybee, water is in her DNA. She joins the IWH team to support the mission and vision of safe water, a sustainable environment, and resilient communities by managing and supporting programs and assisting in expanding collaborations with business partners, and research institutions. In addition, she assists with planning and logistics for service projects and programs. She brings her years of experience in higher education and creativity to the team. Mary has an undergraduate degree in graphic design from Georgia Southern University. She has been given the University Award for Staff Community Engagement Award of Excellence and the COE Betty Ware Wray Award.
Current Research: Swamp 2 Gulf and Safe Water Together
Jacob Loveless, Ph.D, MSc.
Office Phone: 912.478.0905
Lab Manager
Jake Loveless was first introduced to water quality research as an undergraduate at Utah Valley University where he used macroinvertebrate community composition to assess ecosystem health and water quality in Utah streams and wetlands. He has a diverse research background covering many different topics and ecosystems. He has conducted research on insect and nekton communities in the bays and estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico, genetic analyses on forest trees in the Pacific Northwest and Idaho, researched how adjuvants improve pesticide uptake in various crop and weed species and has extensive experience in microbiology and molecular lab techniques.
Jake has an undergraduate degree in Biology from Utah Vally University, a Masters of Science focusing on insect community ecology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and a Ph.D. from Portland State University focusing on plant and microbial genetics.
Specialty area: Microbial genetics and molecular laboratory techniques.
Luke Roberson, MSc.
Office Phone: 912.314.2991
Coordinator of Community Engagement and Outreach
Born and raised in Elizabethtown, KY, Luke has over 15 years of experience in environmental science and has worked with a diverse group of federal and state agencies, non-profits, and educational centers in his career. He specializes in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), working with volunteers, educators, and businesses in collecting and interpreting water quality data. He lives in Savannah, GA with his wife Kim and two kids.
Luke has undergraduate degrees in graphic design and biology from the University of Kentucky, and a Masters of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. He is a current DPH student at Georgia Southern University with a Community Health Behavior and Education concentration.
Specialty Area: Recreational water quality, citizen science
Current Research: Assessment of risk communication techniques for recreational water quality advisories
Victor Obi, MS
Hydrologist
Victor is an experienced hydrogeologist with over eight years in geosciences, environmental sciences, and water research. His expertise includes hydrogeology, hydrology, water quality, contaminant transport, and applying machine learning in water studies. A master’s graduate in Geology from Kent State University, his research focused on contaminant fate and transport in porous media. As a NOAA National Water Center Summer Institute Fellow, he contributed to advanced flood forecasting through a surrogate model improving the accuracy of flood inundation maps. Victor also collaborated with top scientists on the Langseth OBS research cruise, studying tectonic structures beneath the ocean floor.
Victor has worked with diverse city and state agencies on water projects and previously spent three years as a geophysicist in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, specializing in seismic data processing. He is passionate about water resource management and environmental protection and is committed to developing innovative solutions to address global water challenges.
Specialty Areas: Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Water Quality, Contaminant Transport, Machine Learning in Water Research
Current Research: Solute Transport in Porous Media, Flood Inundation Mapping
Current Students
Victoria Clower, MPH
Graduate Research Assistant
Victoria Clower is a bright first-year doctoral candidate attending Georgia Southern University. She is studying Community Health Behavior and Education at Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. She is passionate about community outreach and public education, especially in dealing with environmental issues. She volunteers her time with the Ogeechee Riverkeeper and works with the Adopt-A-Stream organization monitoring waterways in southeast Georgia. Victoria also enjoys conducting research in environmental health and hopes to one day run her own lab and become an Environmental Health Specialist.
Specialty Area: Drinking water quality, rural environmental health
Current Research: Water stewardship and disease prevention interventions among private well owners
Taryn Black
Undergraduate Lab Assistant
Taryn Black is an undergraduate at Georgia Southern University, majoring in Biochemistry. Taryn has always aspired to work in a lab, so her current role as a research assistant at the Institute for Water and Health will give her tangible experience to build her skills. She previously researched fungal endophytes under Dr. Sara Gremillion, giving her a solid foundation in scientific methodology. In her role, Taryn wishes to further her expertise in environmental and public health while connecting with surrounding community members and like-minded peers and mentors.
Olayemi Aloba
Graduate Research Assistant
Olayemi Aloba is a graduate research assistant at Georgia Southern University, working at the Institute of Water and Health under Dr. Asil Aslan. Studying public health with a focus on environmental health, Olayemi is dedicated to providing clean water to rural and underserved communities. Passionate about water quality, Olayemi volunteers with the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, participates in River Sweep clean-ups, and monitors local waterways with Adopt-A-Stream in southeast Georgia. With a strong background in biology and experience in microbiology and entomology, they aim to make impactful contributions to environmental health.
Trevor Driggers
Graduate Research Assistant
Growing up in Guyton, Trevor conducts research at the nearby Georgia beaches he grew up visiting. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Biology from Georgia Southern University and is now pursuing his Masters in Environmental Health Science at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. Trevor works directly with Victoria Clower on her current research.
Affiliated Faculty
As a multidisciplinary unit, the IWH relies on the diverse set of experts at Georgia Southern for solutions to the challenges faced at the intersection of water and health. We work with our university partners for grant writing, education, outreach, and innovative research projects.
Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Ph.D
Department: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences
Specialty Area: Infectious disease epidemiology, digital health, mathematical modeling
Current Research: Infectious disease epidemiology and modeling
Francisco Cubas, Ph.D
Department: Civil Engineering and Construction
Specialty Area: Environmental Engineering
Current Research: Surface water quality, water treatment, and watershed management
Dajun Dai, Ph.D
Department: Geosciences at Georgia State University
Specialty Area: Interactions between place and health and their implication on planning, public health, and policy
James Deemy, Ph.D
Department: Natural Sciences at Coastal College of Georgia
Specialty: Wetland hydrology, water quality
Current Research: Hydrology and water quality of episodic flows through isolated wetlands
Matthew Flynn, Ph.D
Department: International Studies and Sociology
Specialty Area: Global Health Politics, Immigration, Development
Sara Gremillion Ph.D
Department: Biology
Specialty Area: Fungi in the Environment
Current Research: Identifying Fungi in Savannah
Lacey Huffling, Ph.D
Department: Middle Grades and Secondary Education
Specialty Area: Science and environmental education with a focus on agency and identity
Current Research: Swamp 2 Gulf and RaMPs
Jeff Jones, Ph.D
Department: Health Policy & Management
Specialty Area: GIS, Geographic Information Systems
Dr. Shainaz Landge, Ph.D
Department: Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Physics
Specialty Area: Synthesis, Organic chemistry, Supramolecular chemistry, Microwave chemistry
Current Research: Small molecule sensors, analytical tools
Lixin Li, Ph.D
Department: Computer Science
Specialty Area: Spatiotemporal Analysis of Air Pollution, GIS, Machine Learning
Current Research: Spatiotemporal PM2.5 estimation and prediction
Edward L. Lo, Ph.D
Department: School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability
Specialty Area: Sediment composition and geochemistry in floodplains, lakes, and rivers
Current Research: A combination of fieldwork with laboratory analyses to assess environmental change and its impacts on vulnerable communities in floodplains in the Global South. Expands on research by including Traditional Ecological Knowledge and oral history interviews.
Ana M. Palacios, MD, Ph.D
Department: Community Health Education & Behavior
Specialty Area: Nutritional Sciences, Community Health
Current Research: Global Health, Obesity, Child and maternal nutrition
Rocio L. Perez, Ph.D
Department: Analytical Chemistry
Md Rasheduzzaman, Ph.D, MSc
Department: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Sciences, East Tennessee State University
Specialty Area: Rural environmental health & rural water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), Environmental Engineering, Environmental Risk Assessment
Current Research: Drinking water & health in rural Appalachia; emerging contaminants in drinking water; impact of climate change on water quality
Vishakha W. Rawool, Ph.D, CCC-A
Department: Waters College of Health Professions/Department of Clinical Sciences
Specialty Area: Audiology & Hearing Science
Research Interests: Audiology, auditory processing deficits, hearing conservation (includes effects of lead, mercury, PCB, and other ototoxins), aging, remote collaborative communication.
Lewis Stetson Rowles III, Ph.D
Department: Civil Engineering
Specialty Area: Environmental Engineering
Current Research: Water and Sanitation Technology Development, Quantitative Sustainable Design of Engineered Systems, Community-Based Studies
Nathaniel Shank, Ph.D
Department: Chemistry
Specialty Area: Bioorganic chemistry, solution and solid phase synthesis, macromolecular complexes
Current Research: PFAS and CECs, peptide nucleic acids probes and scaffolds, cyanine dyes
Anthony Siccardi, Ph.D
Department: Biology and Aquaculture
Jack Simmons, Ph.D
Department: Philosophy and Religious Studies
Specialty Area: Discourse Theory/Philosophy of Science/Aesthetics
Current Research: Hydrological Modeling, Extreme Reductionism in Hydrology.
Stacy Smallwood, Ph.D
Department: Community Health Education & Behavior
Specialty Area: Health equity, community engagement
Dylan Spencer, Ph.D
Department: Criminal Justice & Criminology
Specialty Area: Conservation crime science
Current Research: IUU fishing, spatial analysis of crime, wildlife poaching and trafficking, water and human interactions
Kimberly Takagi, Ph.D
Department: Natural Sciences at Coastal College of Georgia
Speciality Area: Marine and Environmental Science
Current Research: The relationship between aquatic/ marine invertebrate ecology and water quality dynamics
Yelena Tarasenko, DrPH, MPH, CPH, MSFP, MPA
Department: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences
Specialty Area: Epidemiology (cancer and behavioral epidemiology), health policy
Current Research: Cancer prevention and control
Last updated: 2/17/2025