Advancing Wastewater-Based Epidemiology through Curricular Innovation

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a powerful tool in public health surveillance, capable of detecting a wide range of infectious diseases and chemical markers at the community level. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of WBE accelerated worldwide as it served as an early-warning tool and provided data to complement traditional clinical surveillance approaches. As the field evolves, educators and practitioners recognize the importance of incorporating WBE into academic curricula to prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers, and public health professionals to effectively use these tools. Importantly, the success of WBE efforts during the pandemic relied heavily on close collaboration between academic researchers and public health agencies, partnerships that facilitated real-time data interpretation and informed public health decisionmaking. Teaching students about this collaborative model not only enhances their understanding of WBE but also prepares them to navigate interdisciplinary and stakeholder-engaged approaches across other areas of environmental and public health practice. This Viewpoint summarizes key insights from an April 21, 2025, workshop by the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (RCN, Project 2202361) that explored opportunities and challenges of WBE educational initiatives (Table 1).