Mark D. Sobsey, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Professor, Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Mark D. Sobsey, Ph.D., is a Professor of Environmental Microbiology in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sobsey joined the UNC-CH faculty in 1974 as an assistant professor, following his post-doctoral position, instructorship and assistant professorship in the Department of Virology and Epidemiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Prior to his post-doctoral work at Baylor, Sobsey earned his B.S. in biology in 1965 and a M.S. in Hygiene in 1967 from the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley in 1971.
Known internationally for research, teaching and service in environmental health microbiology and virology, and in water, sanitation and hygiene, Sobsey has published more than 200 papers and reports on the topic.
His research, teaching and service encompass the detection, characterization, occurrence, environmental survival/transport/fate, treatment, human health effects characterization and risk assessment of viruses, bacteria and protozoa of public health concern – in water, wastewater, biosolids, soil, air and food – for the prevention and control of water-, food- and excreta-borne disease.
In addition to his teaching and research at UNC-CH, Sobsey is an author, consultant and scientific advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State of North Carolina and other international, national and state entities.
In 2001, Sobsey was awarded the American Water Works Association A.P. Black Award for research excellence. He is a member of the American Water Works Association, the International Water Association, the American Society for Microbiology, the International Association for Food Protection and the National Environmental Health Association.
Media Contact
Members of the press interested in more information about International Aid’s new safe water initiative are invited to contact:
Bruce Buursma
Communications Director
(616) 935-3624
buursmab@internationalaid.org
If you are a member of a humanitarian, faith-based, governmental or educational institution seeking additional information about International Aid’s safe water initiative, please contact International Aid at (800) 251-2502.
