Rate My Professor Lisa Casanova

Lisa Casanova is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health in the Department of Population Health Sciences and Faculty Development Associate in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University, where she has served on the faculty for over 15 years. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2008), an M.S. from the same institution (2004), and a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Arizona (2000).

Dr. Casanova's research specializes in the environmental transmission of infectious diseases, waterborne pathogens, low-cost water and sanitation options for developing nations, protecting healthcare workers from occupational infections, and the spread of infectious diseases in the built environment. Her expertise encompasses environmental health microbiology, environmental sampling and analysis, microbial risk assessment, and scientific writing. Key publications include "Mechanisms of bacteria, virus, and turbidity removal by chitosan coagulation in water" (2026), "Removal of surrogate viruses from water using chitosan coagulation" (2025), "Evaluating Fecal Indicator and Pathogen Relationships in Sewage Impacted Surface Waters to Blend with Reclaimed Water for Potable Reuse in North Carolina" (2021), "Quantitative microbial risk assessment of North Carolina reclaimed water for potable reuse" (2020), "Antibiotic resistant Salmonella in swine wastes and farm surface waters" (2019), and "Turbidity reduction in drinking water by coagulation-flocculation with chitosan polymers" (2019). She has participated in CDC projects to protect patients and workers from infectious diseases in health facilities, led Ebola protection training for healthcare providers, and evaluated post-tsunami safe water interventions in Sri Lanka alongside novel drinking water treatment technologies. Dr. Casanova teaches Introduction to Environmental Health, Environmental Health Microbiology, Environmental Sampling and Analysis, Microbial Risk Assessment, and Scientific Writing. In her faculty development role, she leads the school's mentoring program, manages development resources, and collaborates on strategic initiatives. She was selected for the inaugural 2025-26 cohort of Georgia State University's Academic Leadership Institute for Faculty. Her work has received over 4,400 citations on Google Scholar.