Sarah Preheim is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering and the director of the Preheim Lab, which studies microbial ecology and engineering.
Preheim’s research focuses on the ecology of microorganisms impacting water quality in lakes, estuaries, and coastal oceans to better inform remediation strategies. She uses a combination of field sampling, laboratory experiments, and computational analysis to improve our understanding of the microbial processes that impact water quality.
She received her BS in biological sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in 1997 and earned her Ph.D. in biological oceanography in 2010 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Joint Program. Her graduate work focused on the population structure of Vibrionaceae in the coastal ocean, working with Martin Polz, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. Preheim worked as a postdoctoral associate in the biological engineering department at MIT with Eric Alm from 2010-2014 before joining the faculty of the Whiting School of Engineering.