Amy Pickering
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seqh2o.bsky.social
Amy Pickering
@seqh2o.bsky.social
Associate Prof, UC Berkeley. Global health, WASH tech, environmental surveillance, antibiotic resistance, following the pathogens. pickering.berkeley.edu
www.mangrovewater.org
Reposted by Amy Pickering
So how did it go?

NIH made 43 DP2 awards, the lowest number in a decade.

I really wish Director Bhattacharya would spend doing his actual job rather than badmouthing the agency he is charged to lead and spouting platitudes on podcasts and elsewhere.

6/7
November 6, 2025 at 4:09 PM
No one is talking about global handwashing day today here! We have new WHO Global Guidelines for hand hygiene in community settings - we worked hard on them - check them out! Wash your hands with plain soap and water (no added antimicrobials) or use ABHS! cdn.who.int/media/docs/d...
October 15, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Is it Solid Evidence or Liquid Gold?? It's both for wastewater-based epidemiology! Check out our new paper - Trade-Offs of Processing Settled Solids, Whole Influent, or Centrifuged Influent for Codetecting Viral, Bacterial, and Eukaryotic Pathogens in Wastewater pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Solid Evidence and Liquid Gold: Trade-Offs of Processing Settled Solids, Whole Influent, or Centrifuged Influent for Codetecting Viral, Bacterial, and Eukaryotic Pathogens in Wastewater
Effective methods for simultaneously measuring viral, bacterial, protozoan, and fungal pathogens in wastewater are needed. Here, we investigate how the sample type and nucleic acid extraction protocol...
pubs.acs.org
August 9, 2025 at 12:14 AM
One NIH diversity supplement grant reinstated! we'll take the win! now if we can just get our delayed NOA on the parent grant to come through...
July 10, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Nice article on our new paper out in @natcomms.nature.com www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/n...
July 4, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
STAGGERING: This new study of 133 countries is the first to estimate the impact of all USAID’s work. In 2 decades, it has saved *92M* lives. Current cuts, if not reversed, are forecast to cost up to *14M* lives thru 2030. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
July 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
I am devastated by the recent news that HUD is pushing the National Science Foundation (NSF) out of their building. People need to speak up NOW. Thread w/ facts:

Below is email I sent to trusted @meidastouch.com @adammockler.com and my local Congressional leaders-use any/all parts that help. (1/)
June 25, 2025 at 8:02 PM
New paper out! Here we find that 85% of pathogens detected in child stool are also found in animals living in close proximity. Longitudinal sampling and TAC analysis also showed pathogen transmission from animals => soil => child hands => new infections. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Zoonotic and Environmental Sources of Infant Enteric Pathogen Infections Identified with Longitudinal Sampling
Many enteric pathogens that infect young children can be zoonotic, yet the exposure risk of domestic animals living in close proximity to young children is poorly understood. Here, we longitudinally m...
pubs.acs.org
June 23, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
Today RFK Jr took the single biggest step towards destroying childhood vaccines

When @nytimes asked me in December whether RFK could kill the vaccine program - I said he’d have to remove CDCs ACIP

And… that’s exactly what he just did today

Not good-just like that we cannot trust CDC on vaccines
June 10, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
My mom had polio, was disabled her entire life, it severely impacted my entire family & me personally, & she died way too early. She contracted it in infancy shortly before the Salk vaccine roll-out.

These attacks on vaccines are a public health nightmare.

Many people are going to get sick & die.
Kennedy Removes All C.D.C. Vaccine Panel Experts
www.nytimes.com
June 9, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
As Chair of the Department of Global and Public Health @healthsciences.mcgill.ca, I am pleased to share two open junior faculty positions!

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/mcgill...

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/mcgill...
May 8, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
“We were interested in understanding the role of the household environment in bacterial transmission to humans,” said Prof. @seqh2o.bsky.social.

“And our findings showed that water is actually one of the most important transmission pathways for pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria.”
Berkeley researchers have shown that household environment might play a larger role in the transmission of gastrointestinal bacterial infections via drinking water than previously thought.
Household drinking water identified as key pathway for bacterial transmission - Berkeley Engineering
Research points to effective strategies for protecting community health
bit.ly
May 7, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
Shutting down the Energy Star program will raise your energy costs and make you sicker. There is no good policy reason to shut it down. None. It saves people lots of money and helps cut pollution. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/c...
E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star Program
www.nytimes.com
May 7, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
Berkeley researchers have shown that household environment might play a larger role in the transmission of gastrointestinal bacterial infections via drinking water than previously thought.
Household drinking water identified as key pathway for bacterial transmission - Berkeley Engineering
Research points to effective strategies for protecting community health
bit.ly
May 6, 2025 at 10:09 PM
nice to have a daredevilry distraction from the current fed gov research horrors
Over nearly 18 years, Tim Friede, injected himself with escalating doses of venom from 16 deadly snake species. He also allowed the snakes to sink their sharp fangs into him about 200 times. His daredevilry may help solve a dire problem.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/h...
Universal Antivenom May Grow Out of Man Who Let Snakes Bite Him Hundreds of Times
Scientists identified antibodies that neutralized the poison in whole or in part from the bites of cobras, mambas and other deadly species.
www.nytimes.com
May 2, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
Not a great morning. Two grant cancellations and now this: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NIH to suspend funds for research abroad as it overhauls policy
Move by US biomedical agency threatens thousands of projects on infectious diseases, cancer and more.
www.nature.com
May 1, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
Human wastewater contamination is so bad in Alabama homes that 1 in 3 adults in one county had hookworm. Biden funded efforts to improve sanitation there. But the effort is cancelled as "DEI".

www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/...
Trump shut down program to end human waste backing into Alabama homes, calling it 'illegal DEI'
A $26 million federal program to help residents of Lowndes County, Alabama, who have dealt with inadequate sewage systems for decades was stopped by an executive order.
www.nbcnews.com
May 1, 2025 at 7:56 PM
How are pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacterial strains shared across humans, animals, and the environment? Using PIC-Seq + StrainGE, we find drinking water plays an important role in human-human strain sharing. Just published in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Contaminated drinking water facilitates Escherichia coli strain-sharing within households in urban informal settlements - Nature Microbiology
Escherichia coli-contaminated stored drinking water facilitates strain-sharing between household members, suggesting water treatment can curb bacterial transmission and antibiotic resistance in urban ...
www.nature.com
May 1, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
And we are building a roster of expert consultants for our growing list of projects! Read more and apply here: drive.google.com/file/d/1DNEZ...
Mangrove Water, Consultant Roster Description (1).pdf
drive.google.com
March 22, 2025 at 8:12 PM
The time burden of future climate change in SSA will disproportionately fall on women
April 22, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by Amy Pickering
Climate change is expected to make sub-Saharan Africa warmer and drier.

In @natcomms.nature.com, @seqh2o.bsky.social & co. explore how this affects the burden of collecting water—with impacts for health, hygiene, income, and gender equity:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Temperature and precipitation affect the water fetching time burden in Sub-Saharan Africa - Nature Communications
This study reveals that rising temperatures and decreased precipitation levels increase walking time for fetching drinking water in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rural areas are most affected, but community ele...
www.nature.com
April 21, 2025 at 8:18 PM