Research Facility
Research Overview, Research That Matters: Creating Knowledge that Benefits Society and the World

The news headlines remind us daily that this is a critical time in our history. The quality and quantity of natural resources-oceans, forests, freshwater, air-are stressed by the increasing demands of human activity. At the same time, while the U.S. population faces an obesity epidemic, nearly a billion people do not have enough food to eat and more than a billion do not have access to clean water.

The challenges that we face are formidable, but the good news is that Lehigh professors and students are tackling these 21st century challenges head-on.

That's evident in the type of research projects that are ongoing at Lehigh-research to bring clean drinking water to remote parts of the world that resulted in Lehigh students traveling to India, research to treat preschool ADHD without drugs, research using computer models to shed important light on heart disease, research into alternate forms of energy, research to develop a new class of antidepressants for the treatment of disorders of stress, mood, and behavior, and research to find the flaws and correct them in current computer voting machines to protect future U.S. elections-to name a few.

As a world-class research university, Lehigh is committed to performing research that matters. We pursue knowledge for the benefit of society. At Lehigh, research provides the training ground for tomorrow's leaders. We welcome you to this Web site, and encourage you to explore its pages and to learn more about the difference-making research being performed at Lehigh.

 

 

 

faculty profile

KRISTEN JELLISON, Ph.D.
KRISTEN JELLISON, Ph.D.
Assistant professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D.: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003
Undergraduate: Cornell University

Cryptosporidium parvum, a common and hardy parasite, can be deadly for people with weakened immune systems, so Kristen Jellison is seeking to reduce its waterborne transmission.

In a project funded by the Philadelphia Water Department, Jellison is attempting to determine the sources of Cryptosporidium in the city's water supply. She extracts the parasite's DNA, sequences it and compares it to the DNA of Cryptosporidium from various animal hosts. Jellison then can make an educated guess as to which animals may have contaminated the water samples studied.

Jellison co-advises Students for Sustainable Development, an umbrella organization that includes Lehigh's chapter of Engineers Without Borders as well as non-engineering majors interested in sustainability issues.