Welcome to the Rao Lab!

My research focuses on water and wastewater treatment. In the area of water treatment, I have investigated free-living amoebae (FLA) and their influence on the fate and transport of pathogenic bacteria within water delivery networks. Future research projects will explore various water treatment technologies, such as sand filtration, to understand how FLA can bypass these systems and identify potential methods to enhance removal efficacy.

In the realm of wastewater treatment, my lab is currently analyzing biosolid samples from the Easton wastewater treatment plant. Our goal is to transform this waste stream into two valuable product streams. First, we are examining the capacity of bacteria to liberate bound phosphorus present in the biosolids, allowing for its separation and reuse in fertilizers. Second, we aim to extract polyhydroxyalkanoate from the spent bacteria, a polymer that can be converted into plastic.