Tao Yan
Professor of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering
Office: Holmes Hall 283
Phone: (808) 956-6024
E-mail: taoyan@hawaii.edu
Personal Homepage
Areas of Specialty and Research Interest
Environmental microbiology and biotechnology, human pathogens in the environment, low-cost water treatment and water reuse, water infrastructure sustainability, and environmental antibiotic resistance
Education
- Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2004
- M.S., Environmental Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China 2000
- B.S., Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China 1997
Experience
- Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, August 2017-present
- Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, August 2012-July 2017
- Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, August 2007-July 2012
- Post Doctoral Researcher, BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, October 2004 – July 2007
Courses Taught at UH (in the last five years)
- CEE 330 Environmental Engineering (F’15, F’16, F’17, F’18, F’19)
- CEE 431 Water and Wastewater Engineering
- CEE 432 Water and Wastewater Treatment Design
- CEE 634 Biological Treatment
- CEE 635 Environmental Chemistry (S’16, S’18)
- CEE 636 Environmental Microbiology (S’15, S’17)
- CEE 691 Seminar in Civil and Environmental Engineering (F’19)
- CEE 696: Selected Topics in Civil Engr (S’19, S’20)
Professional Activities
- Member, American Society of Microbiology (ASM)
- Member, International Society for Microbiology Ecology (ISME)
- Member, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professor (AEESP)
HONORS AND AWARDS
2012 Corporate Research Incentive Program Award for Faculty, College of Engineering, University of Hawaii
2010 EPA STAR Early Career Award (research grant)
2008 ASCE ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Fellow
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES in Past Five Years (*indicates corresponding author, underlined are students or postdoctoral fellows advised by Tao Yan)
22. Prakit Saingam, Bo Li, and Tao Yan* (2018). Use of amplicon sequencing to improve sensitivity of PCR-Based detection of microbial pathogens in environmental samples. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 149, 73-79.
21. Tao Yan*, Pamela O’Brien, Jessica M. Shelton, Andrew C. Whelen, and Eulyn Pagaling (2018). Municipal Wastewater as a Microbial Surveillance Platform for Enteric Diseases: A Case Study for Salmonella and Salmonellosis. Environmental Science & Technology. 52, 4869-4877. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b00163.
20. Liang Chen, Hang Lang, Fei Liu*, Song Jin, and Tao Yan. (2017) Presence of Antibiotics in Shallow Groundwater in the Northern and Southwestern Regions of China. Groundwater. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1111/gwat.12596.
19. Jeonghwan Jang, Hor-Gil Hur, Michael J. Sadowsky, Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Tao Yan, and Satoshi Ishii* (2017). Environmental Escherichia coli: ecology and public health implications—a review. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 123 (3). 570-581. DOI: 10.1111/jam.13468.
18. Chuanqing Zhong, Matthew Nelson, Guangxiang Cao, Michael J. Sadowsky, and Tao Yan* (2017). Complete Genome Sequence of the Triclosan and Multidrug Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain B10W Isolated from Municipal Wastewater. Genome Announcements, 5 (3) e01489-1416. DOI: 10.1128/genomeA.01489-16.
17. Hanna R Temme, Kipp Sande, Tao Yan, Paige J Novak* (2017). Rapid Enrichment of Dehalococcoides-like Bacteria by Partial Hydrophobic Separation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 83 (6) e02946-16. doi:10.1128/AEM.02946-16
16. Eulyn Pagaling, Joao Gatica, Kun Yang, Eddie Cytryn, and Tao Yan* (2016). Phylogenetic Diversity of Ceftriaxone Resistance and the Presence of Extended Spectrum Beta-lactamase Genes in the Culturable Soil Resistome. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance. 6, 128-135.
15. Xia He and Tao Yan* (2016). Impact of Microbial Activities and Hydraulic Retention Time on the Production and Profile of Long Chain Fatty Acids in Grease Interceptors: A Laboratory Study. Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology. 2, 474-482. DOI: 10.1039/C6EW00013D.
14. Michael Cooney*, Ken Lewis, Keven Harris, Qian Zhang, and Tao Yan* (2016). Start Up Performance of Biochar Packed Bed Anaerobic Digesters. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 9, e7-e13. DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2014.12.004.
13. Joao Gatica, Kun Yang, Eulyn Pagaling, Edouard Jurkevitch, Tao Yan, and Eddie Cytryn* (2015). Resistance of undisturbed soil microbiomes to ceftriaxone indicates extended spectrum beta-lactamase activity. Frontiers of Microbiology. 6:1233. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01233
12. Qian Zhang, Xia He and Tao Yan* (2015). Differential Decay of Wastewater Bacteria and Change of Microbial Communities in Beach Sand and Seawater Microcosms. Environmental Science & Technology. 49 (14), 8531–8540.
11. Xia He, Qian Zhang, Michael J. Cooney and Tao Yan* (2015). Biodegradation of Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) Deposits Under Various Redox Conditions Relevant to Sewer Environment. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 99 (14), 6059-6068.
10. Xinru Zhang, Qian Zhang, Tao Yan, Zeyi Jiang, Xinxin Zhang, Yi Y. Zuo* (2015). Quantitatively Predicting Bacterial Adhesion Using Surface Free Energy Determined with a Spectrophotometric Method. Environmental Science & Technology. 49 (10), 6164-6171.
9. Qian Zhang, Xia He, and Tao Yan* (2015). Impact of Indigenous Microbiota of Subtidal Sand on Fecal Indicator Bacteria Decay in Beach Systems: A Microcosm Study. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology. 1, 306-315.
8. Xinru Zhang, Qian Zhang, Tao Yan, Zeyi Jiang, Xinxin Zhang, and Yi Y. Zuo* (2014). Surface Free Energy Activated High-Throughput Cell Sorting. Analytical Chemistry. 86 (18), 9350-9355.
7. Eulyn Pagaling, Kun Yang, and Tao Yan* (2014). Pyrosequencing reveals correlations between extremely acidophilic bacterial communities with hydrogen sulphide concentrations, pH and inert polymer coatings at concrete sewer crown surfaces. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 117 (1), 50-64.
6. Mark J. Krzmarzick, Hanna R. Miller, Tao Yan, and Paige J. Novak* (2014). Novel Firmicutes group implicated in the dechlorination of two chlorinated xanthones, analogues of natural organochlorines. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 80 (3), 1210-1218.
5. Ryan J. Lopez, Scott Higgins, Eulyn Pagaling, Tao Yan, and Michael J. Cooney*. (2014). High Rate Anaerobic Digestion of Wastewater Separated From Grease Trap Waste. Renewable Energy. 62, 234-242.
4. Lavane Kim, Eulyn Pagaling, Yi Y. Zuo, and Tao Yan* (2014). Impact of Substratum Surface on Microbial Community Structure and Treatment Performance in Biological Aerated Filters. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 80 (1), 177-183.
3. Kun Yang, Eulyn Pagaling, and Tao Yan*. (2014). Estimating the Prevalence of Potential Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Intimin Gene Diversity in a Human Community by Monitoring Sanitary Sewage. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 80 (1) 119-127.
2. Scott R. Higgins, Ryan J. Lopeza, Eulyn Pagaling, Tao Yan, Michael J. Cooney*. (2013). Towards a hybrid anaerobic digester-microbial fuel cell integrated energy recovery system: An overview of the development of an electrogenic biofilm. Enzyme and Microbial Technology. 52, 344-351.
1. Henglin Cui, Kun Yang, Eulyn Pagaling, and Tao Yan* (2013). Spatial and Temporal Variations of Enterococci Abundance and Its Relationship with Microbial Community in Hawai’i Beach Sand and Water. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 79(12), 3601-3609.
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS (*indicates corresponding author, underlined are the presenter)
- Tao Yan*, Pamela O’Brien, Jessica M. Shelton, Andrew C. Whelen, and Eulyn Pagaling. “Municipal Wastewater as a Microbial Surveillance Platform for Enteric Diseases: A Case Study for Salmonella and Salmonellosis”. ASM Microbe 2018, June 7-11, Atlanta, Georgia.
- Bo Li, and Tao Yan*. “Multiplex PCR coupled with Next Generation Sequencing for High Throughput Detection of Bacterial Pathogens”, Feb. 7-8, 2018. Pacific Water Conference, Feb. 7-8, 2018. Honolulu, HI (Poster Presentation).
- Prakit Saingam, and Tao Yan*. “Effects of sewage environment on the decay of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB)”, Feb. 7-8, 2018. Pacific Water Conference, Feb. 7-8, 2018. Honolulu, HI (Poster Presentation).
- Tao Yan*. “Expand the Role of Municipal Wastewater Systems in Public Health Protection”. Pacific Water Conference, Feb. 7-8, 2018. Honolulu, HI (Oral Presentation).
- Tao Yan*, Jessica Shelton, Eulyn Pagaling, Pamela O’Brien, and Christian Whelen, “Use Municipal Wastewater for Real-Time Detection of Infectious Diseases: A Case Study on Salmonella and Salmonellosis”. 2017 AEESP Research and Education Conference, June 20-22, 2017. Ann Arbor, MI. (Oral Presentation)
- Tao Yan*, Guangxiang Cao, and Chuanqing Zhong, “Colistin Resistance in Enterobacter cloacae strain DD9 from Municipal Wastewater and Its Horizontal Transfer Potential”. ASM Conference on Innovative Microbial Ecology for Mitigation of Antibiotic Resistance and Bacterial Diseases. March 22-25, 2017, Crystal City, VA. (Poster Presentation)
- Tao Yan*, Impact of stormwater runoff on Hawaii beach water quality and potential abatement strategies. Pacific Water Conference, Honolulu, HI. Feb 13 – 15, 2017. (Oral Presentation)
- Diemert, S. and Yan, T. “Investigation of ferrous iron-induced antibacterial mechanisms for potential low-cost water reclamation”. Pacific Water Conference, Honolulu, HI. Feb 13 – 15, 2017. (Poster Presentation)
- Lee, C. and Yan, T. “Impact of Urban Stormwater Runoffs on Oahu Beach Water Bacteriological Quality”. Pacific Water Conference, Honolulu, HI. Feb 13 – 15, 2017. (Poster Presentation)
- Saingam, P. and Yan, T. “The comparison of modified TTB-XLD-PCR method and EPA 1682 for Salmonella enumeration of biosolid samples”. Pacific Water Conference, Honolulu, HI. Feb 13 – 15, 2017. (Poster Presentation)
- Tao Yan, Assessing antimicrobial resistance burden in communities using municipal wastewater. The 2nd International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Health. June 13-15, 2016, Guangzhou, China (Oral presentation).
RESEARCH PROJECTS
- NSF (Environmental Sustainability), NSF-CBET-1743816, “EAGER: PPER: Enable Crowdsourcing in Microbial Water Quality Monitoring in Water Distribution Networks”, Tao Yan (PI). 09/01/17-08/31/2018. $99,994
- USDA NIFA, “Mitigating the Risk of Antibiotic Resistance at Critical Control Points in the Beef Cattle Manure Management Systems”, PI: Xu Li (University of Nebraska), co-PIs: Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Galen Erickson, Amy Schmidt, Bing Wang, and Tao Yan (20% effort). 07/01/2017-06/30/2021. $1,200,000
- NSF (Environmental Engineering), NSF-CBET-1507979, “Transform Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants into Community Enteric Disease Information Networks”, Tao Yan (PI), Satoshi Ishii (co-PI, University of Minnesota). 08/1/2015~07/31/2018. $345,300
- Hawaii Community Foundation, “Identify Novel ESBLs and Determine Their Horizontal Gene Transfer Potentials in Soil Resistome”, Tao Yan (PI), 06/01/2016-12/31/2017. $49,956
- NSF, IIP-1449854, “I-Corps: Develop chemical markers for rapid and system-level sewer deterioration condition assessment”, Tao Yan (PI), 08/01/2014-01/31/2016. $50,000
- US EPA (STAR Early Career Award), R834871, “Rapid Detection of Sewer Pipeline Problems Using Bacterial DNA Markers and qPCR Technology”, Tao Yan (PI), 02/01/2011-1/31/2016. $299,889
- Hawaii Department of Health. “Survival of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Waterborne Pathogens in Hawaiian Beach Sand”, Tao Yan (PI), 03/01/2011-2/28/2014. $150,000
- United States-Israel Bi-national Science Foundation, 2009276, “Effect of Residual Antibiotic Amendment on Molecular Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance in Indigenous Soil Microbial Communities”, Tao Yan (U.S. PI) and Eddie Cytryn (Israel PI), 12/01/2010~11/30/2013. $120,000
- USDA T-STAR, 2010-34135-21376, “Improving MSL removal of bacterial pathogens from swine wastewater”, Russ Yost (PI), Tao Yan (co-PI, 33.4% effort), 09/01/2010-08/31/2012. $130,500
- USDA NRI, 2009-35102-05212, “Survival of Escherichia coli on Soil Particle Surface in Opaeula Watershed of Oahu, Hawaii”, Tao Yan (PI), 1/1/2009 ~ 12/30/2011. $110,309
- NSF (Environmental Sustainability), CBET-0964260, “EAGER: Understand the concentration dynamics of fecal-specific chemical and bacterial markers in a tropical residential sewershed”, Tao Yan (PI) and Chittaranjan Ray (co-PI), 01/01/2010~12/30/2011 $72,980
- UH Sea Grant College Program, “A novel upflow geofilter system for the cost-efficient removal of fecal bacteria from stream water”, Tao Yan (PI), 06/01/2010-06/31/2011. $10,000
- Water Environment Research Foundation, PATH6R09, “Concentration Dynamics of Fecal Indicators in Hawaiian Coastal and Inland Sand, Soil, and Water during Rainfall Events”, Tao Yan (PI), 6/15/2009 – 12/15/2010. $144,554
- Hawaii WRRC, “Determination of the Relationship between Biodiversity and Trophic Status of Wahiawa Reservoir”, , Tao Yan (PI), Clark Liu (co-PI), 3/1/2008 – 2/28/2009 $20,000