People

The Hegarty Lab in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Case Western Reserve University draws individuals from many different disciplinary backgrounds who are united by an interest in understanding and engineering microbiomes. If you’d be interested in joining the lab or collaborating, email Prof. Bridget Hegarty for more information about current projects. 


Bridget Hegarty

Dr. Bridget Hegarty is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Her research interests encompass the microbiology of engineered systems, ranging from homes and drinking water pipes to constructed wetlands. She is particularly driven to understand the viral and fungal communities of environments that have been previously overlooked. Before starting at Case Western Reserve, she was a postdoc at the University of Michigan studying the viral ecology of drinking water distribution systems. She earned her PhD at Yale University, where her dissertation focused on the fungi of homes with mold damage, including designing a machine learning tool capable of using the fungal signature of homes to distinguish whether or not a home has mold damage. Beyond the lab, she loves skiing (both downhill and cross-country), photography, traveling and reading.

CV | Google Scholar | Twitter | Github

Current Lab Members

Sadia Marjia Ferdous

Sadia Marjia Ferdous is a Ph.D. student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. She completed her B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. She has a work experience of more than 4 years at the Institute of Water Modelling, Bangladesh. Her research interest focuses on water quality, treatment, and environmental microbiology. She is particularly interested in understanding the role of microorganisms in improving water quality. Besides, she enjoys traveling, exploring new places, watching movies, reading, and photography.
 

Muhtashim Rafiq Chowdhury

Muhtashim Rafiq Chowdhury is a Ph.D. student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. He completed his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. He worked for more than 4 years at the Institute of Water Modelling, Bangladesh in the topographic and bathymetric surveying field. He was also the lab-in-charge of the water quality lab there. He is interested in water quality, treatment, environmental microbiology and UAV mapping. His research focuses on understanding the role of microorganisms in improving air and water quality. He enjoys hiking, watching movies, reading, and playing football.

 

Undrgrad Lab Members

Joshua Eagle

Caroline Kreutzberg

Laerke Kristensen

Nate Poshkus

Grace Reynolds

Shruti Vasagiri

 

Former Lab Members

Abigail Leslie (Biochemistry, BS '25)

Chloe Maciejewski (Civil Engineering, Macromolecular Engineering, BS '25)

Brian Vance (Civil Engineering, BS '25)

Maddie Maduzia (Biology and Environmental Studies, BS)

Delphine Clatanoff (Biology and International Studies, BS '23)

Mary Harten (Mechanical Engineering, BS '23)

Songchen Li (Civil Engineering, BS '23)

Emily Rego 

Christopher Thomas (Mechanical Engineering, BS '23)