Rachel Noble is the Mary and Watts Hill Jr. Distinguished Professor Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and the Department of Marine Sciences, and Director of the UNC Institute for the Environment Morehead Field Site. She brings extensive expertise in the interworking of molecular diagnostic tools being used for SARS-CoV-2 quantification in both clinical and wastewater/environmental samples, including qPCR, digital droplet PCR and sample processing and extraction approaches. Current collaborative relationships with industry partners such as Biogx, designer of rapid SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tools that are up for FDA EUA approval for rapid testing. We plan to use this new rapid tool for improved assessment in NC with particular attention to rural systems that are largely unprepared. The focus on co-risk associated with wastewater, septic systems, and package treatment systems can help manage risk associated with sewage spills and flooding events.
Her teams expertise in the application of the rapid diagnostic methods to sample matrices such as wastewater, marine and freshwater recreational waters, and other systems like seafood and shellfish, to understand resurgence of food-borne disease risk as the global population transitions back to normal functioning.