Germ risk assessment expert to deliver Shah Family Lecture

Charles P. Gerba, professor of environmental microbiology in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science at the University of Arizona in Tucson, will deliver the Sixth Annual Shah Family Lecture at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, in Tresidder Oak West. The title of his lecture is "Gambling with Germs: Microbial Risk Assessment." The event, sponsored by Stanford's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is free and open to the public.

"We are always gambling with germs in everyday life," Gerba said in an e-mail interview. "Our goal should be to keep the odds in our favor. Risk assessment helps us keep the odds in our favor by telling us what is worth doing and what is not to protect our health."

Gerba, who is also adjunct professor in the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona, is nationally renowned for his work on household microbes and intestinal diseases, including study of new methods for the detection of both waterborne and environmental pathogens, microbial risk assessment, the development of new disinfectants and drinking water treatment processes. He has co-authored textbooks on environmental microbiology, microbial risk assessment, viruses in groundwater and other topics and has authored more than 500 scientific papers. His research into the environmental transmission of disease-causing microorganisms has spanned more than 30 years. In 1973, while an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, he laid the foundation for his highly regarded work on household hygiene.

In addition to his research activities, Gerba has served on the Pima County (Ariz.) Board of Health and as a consultant to the World Health Organization, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He received his bachelor's degree in microbiology from Arizona State University and his doctorate, also in microbiology, from the University of Miami.

The Shah Family Fund, named for Professor Emeritus Haresh Shah, former chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was established in 1995. It provides annual fellowships for students in civil engineering; an annual prize for an outstanding staff member in the School of Engineering; and an annual distinguished lecture on catastrophic risk management and related subjects. Shah, an expert on probability and reliability theory, is also a founding member of Risk Management Solutions Inc. of Newark, Calif.

Editor Note:

A photo of Gerba is available on the web at http://newsphotos.stanford.edu.

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