Fuqing Wu
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Infectious viral diseases remain one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Our group focuses on developing innovative environmental and genomic surveillance systems to understand population health and monitor the spread of infectious diseases. Using molecular virology, genomic sequencing, and mathematical modeling, our research works advance wastewater-based surveillance to track zoonotic pathogens, analyze the evolution of genomic variants, and forecast infection transmission dynamics. By integrating these tools, we aim to create early-warning systems for viral outbreaks and uncover key insights into pathogenic agents’ transmission and public health.
Current projects in my lab include:
- Wastewater-based Epidemiology: Developing methodologies for detecting pathogenic agents in community wastewater, capturing infection trends over time and space, and integrating surveillance data with mathematical models to predict outbreak dynamics and track viral evolution.
- Viral Metagenomics and Discovery: Employing cutting-edge metagenomic sequencing to explore human viral diversity, with the ultimate goal of creating a comprehensive global map of human viruses.
- Microbiome and Medicine: Investigating the interactions between viral infections, antiviral treatments, and the gut microbiome. Questions include how antibiotics affect gut microbiota and how everyday medications alter the microbiome.
Students participating in tutorials/research in our lab will gain hands-on experience in molecular biology, genomic sequencing, bioinformatics, and mathematical modeling.
McGovern Medical School Faculty
Education & Training
Ph.D. - University of Arizona, 2017