headshot of Sarah Haig

Sarah Haig

Assistant Professor
SJHAIG@pitt.edu
(412) 624-9881
Research Group Website @SarahJaneHaig Civil & Environmental Engr

overview

Dr Haig's research combines environmental microbiology, environmental chemistry, and public health to improve water quality with a focus on drinking water systems.

The overall aim of the Haig research group is to develop and advance our understanding of the drinking water microbiome; how to manipulate it to provide safer water in a more energy-efficient way, and understand its role in human health.

about

BSc and MSci in Microbiology, University of Glasgow

PhD Environmental Engineering, University of Glasgow

Post doctoral research fellow, University of Michigan

Huffman, D.P., Pitell, S., Moncure, P., Stout, J., Millstone, J.E., Haig, S.J., & Gilbertson, L.M. (2024). Moving beyond silver in point-of-use drinking water pathogen control. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY, 10(5), 1009-1018.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d3ew00564j.

Pitell, S., Spencer-Williams, I., Huffman, D., Moncure, P., Millstone, J., Stout, J., Gilbertson, L., & Haig, S.J. (2024). Not the Silver Bullet: Uncovering the Unexpected Limited Impacts of Silver-Containing Showerheads on the Drinking Water Microbiome. ACS ES T Water, 4(12), 5364-5376.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c00492.

Dowdell, K.S., Healy, H.G., Joshi, S., Grimard-Conea, M., Pitell, S., Song, Y., Ley, C., Kennedy, L.C., Vosloo, S., Huo, L., Haig, S.J., Hamilton, K.A., Nelson, K.L., Pinto, A., Prevost, M., Proctor, C.R., Raskin, L., Whelton, A.J., Garner, E., Pieper, K.J., & Rhoads, W.J. (2023). Legionella pneumophila occurrence in reduced-occupancy buildings in 11 cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY, 9(11), 2847-2865.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d3ew00278k.

Spencer-Williams, I., Meyer, M., DePas, W., Elliott, E., & Haig, S.J. (2023). Assessing the Impacts of Lead Corrosion Control on the Microbial Ecology and Abundance of Drinking-Water-Associated Pathogens in a Full-Scale Drinking Water Distribution System. Environ Sci Technol, 57(48), 20360-20369.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05272.

Albright, M.B.N., Louca, S., Winkler, D.E., Feeser, K.L., Haig, S.J., Whiteson, K.L., Emerson, J.B., & Dunbar, J. (2022). Solutions in microbiome engineering: prioritizing barriers to organism establishment. ISME J, 16(2), 331-338.Oxford University Press (OUP). doi: 10.1038/s41396-021-01088-5.

Proctor, C., Garner, E., Hamilton, K.A., Ashbolt, N.J., Caverly, L.J., Falkinham, J.O., Haas, C.N., Prevost, M., Prevots, D.R., Pruden, A., Raskin, L., Stout, J., & Haig, S.J. (2022). Tenets of a holistic approach to drinking water-associated pathogen research, management, and communication. Water Res, 211, 117997.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117997.

Spencer-Williams, I., Balangoda, A., Dabundo, R., Elliott, E., & Haig, S.J. (2022). Exploring the Impacts of Full-Scale Distribution System Orthophosphate Corrosion Control Implementation on the Microbial Ecology of Hydrologically Connected Urban Streams. In Gralnick, J.A. (Ed.). Microbiol Spectr, 10(6), e0215822.American Society for Microbiology. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02158-22.

Spencer-Williams, I., Theobald, A., Cypcar, C.C., Casson, L.W., & Haig, S.J. (2022). Examining the antimicrobial efficacy of granulated tetraacetylethylenediamine derived peracetic acid and commercial peracetic acid in urban wastewaters. Water Environ Res, 94(2), e10688.Wiley. doi: 10.1002/wer.10688.

Cui, F., Geng, X., Zervaki, O., Dionysiou, D.D., Katz, J., Haig, S.J., & Boufadel, M. (2021). Transport and Fate of Virus-Laden Particles in a Supermarket: Recommendations for Risk Reduction of COVID-19 Spreading. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, 147(4).American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001870.

Rockey, N.C., Shen, Y., Haig, S.J., Wax, M., Yonts, J., Wigginton, K.R., Raskin, L., & Olson, T.M. (2021). Impact of service line replacement on lead, cadmium, and other drinking water quality parameters in Flint, Michigan. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY, 7(4), 797-808.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d0ew00975j.

Stabryla, L.M., Johnston, K.A., Diemler, N.A., Cooper, V.S., Millstone, J.E., Haig, S.J., & Gilbertson, L.M. (2021). Role of bacterial motility in differential resistance mechanisms of silver nanoparticles and silver ions. Nat Nanotechnol, 16(9), 996-1003.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41565-021-00929-w.

Haig, S.J., Kotlarz, N., Kalikin, L.M., Chen, T., Guikema, S., LiPuma, J.J., & Raskin, L. (2020). Emerging investigator series: bacterial opportunistic pathogen gene markers in municipal drinking water are associated with distribution system and household plumbing characteristics. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY, 6(11), 3032-3043.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d0ew00723d.

Dowdell, K., Haig, S.J., Caverly, L.J., Shen, Y., LiPuma, J.J., & Raskin, L. (2019). Nontuberculous mycobacteria in drinking water systems - the challenges of characterization and risk mitigation. Curr Opin Biotechnol, 57, 127-136.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.03.010.

Haig, S.J., Kotlarz, N., LiPuma, J.J., & Raskin, L. (2018). A High-Throughput Approach for Identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Drinking Water Reveals Relationship between Water Age and Mycobacterium avium. In Bailey, M.J. (Ed.). mBio, 9(1), 10.1128/mbio.02354-10.1128/mbio.02317.American Society for Microbiology. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02354-17.

Kotlarz, N., Rockey, N., Olson, T.M., Haig, S.J., Sanford, L., LiPuma, J.J., & Raskin, L. (2018). Biofilms in Full-Scale Drinking Water Ozone Contactors Contribute Viable Bacteria to Ozonated Water. Environ Sci Technol, 52(5), 2618-2628.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04212.

Olson, T.M., Wax, M., Yonts, J., Heidecorn, K., Haig, S.J., Yeoman, D., Hayes, Z., Raskin, L., & Ellis, B.R. (2017). Forensic Estimates of Lead Release from Lead Service Lines during the Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, 4(9), 356-361.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00226.

Thompson, L.R., Sanders, J.G., McDonald, D., Amir, A., Ladau, J., Locey, K.J., Prill, R.J., Tripathi, A., Gibbons, S.M., Ackermann, G., Navas-Molina, J.A., Janssen, S., Kopylova, E., Vázquez-Baeza, Y., González, A., Morton, J.T., Mirarab, S., Zech Xu, Z., Jiang, L., Haroon, M.F., Kanbar, J., Zhu, Q., Jin Song, S., Kosciolek, T., Bokulich, N.A., Lefler, J., Brislawn, C.J., Humphrey, G., Owens, S.M., Hampton-Marcell, J., Berg-Lyons, D., McKenzie, V., Fierer, N., Fuhrman, J.A., Clauset, A., Stevens, R.L., Shade, A., Pollard, K.S., Goodwin, K.D., Jansson, J.K., Gilbert, J.A., Knight, R., & Earth Microbiome Project Consortium. (2017). A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity. Nature, 551(7681), 457-463.Springer Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature24621.

Caverly, L.J., Carmody, L.A., Haig, S.J., Kotlarz, N., Kalikin, L.M., Raskin, L., & LiPuma, J.J. (2016). Culture-Independent Identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Cystic Fibrosis Respiratory Samples. In Gaggar, A. (Ed.). PLoS One, 11(4), e0153876.Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153876.

Haig, S.J., Gauchotte-Lindsay, C., Collins, G., & Quince, C. (2016). Bioaugmentation Mitigates the Impact of Estrogen on Coliform-Grazing Protozoa in Slow Sand Filters. Environ Sci Technol, 50(6), 3101-3110.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b05027.

Lahr, R.H., Goetsch, H.E., Haig, S.J., Noe-Hays, A., Love, N.G., Aga, D.S., Bott, C.B., Foxman, B., Jimenez, J., Luo, T., Nace, K., Ramadugu, K., & Wigginton, K.R. (2016). Urine Bacterial Community Convergence through Fertilizer Production: Storage, Pasteurization, and Struvite Precipitation. Environ Sci Technol, 50(21), 11619-11626.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6b02094.

Feder, M., Phoenix, V., Haig, S., Sloan, W., Dorea, C., & Haynes, H. (2015). Influence of biofilms on heavy metal immobilization in sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS). Environ Technol, 36(21), 2803-2814.Taylor & Francis. doi: 10.1080/09593330.2015.1049214.

Haig, S.J., Quince, C., Davies, R.L., Dorea, C.C., & Collins, G. (2015). The relationship between microbial community evenness and function in slow sand filters. In Bailey, M.J. (Ed.). mBio, 6(5), e00729-e00715.American Society for Microbiology. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00729-15.

Haig, S.J., Schirmer, M., D'Amore, R., Gibbs, J., Davies, R.L., Collins, G., & Quince, C. (2015). Stable-isotope probing and metagenomics reveal predation by protozoa drives E. coli removal in slow sand filters. ISME J, 9(4), 797-808.Oxford University Press (OUP). doi: 10.1038/ismej.2014.175.

Khan, M.J., Quince, C., S, V., Ijaz, U.Z., Loman, N., Calus, S.T., Quick, J., Haig, S.J., Shaikh, M.G., Edwards, C.A., & Gerasimidis, K. (2015). A detailed analysis of the gut microbial diversity and metabolic activity in children with obesity of different aetiology and lean controls. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NUTRITION SOCIETY, 74(OCE1), E75.Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi: 10.1017/S0029665115000907.

Quince, C., Ijaz, U.Z., Loman, N., Eren, A.M., Saulnier, D., Russell, J., Haig, S.J., Calus, S.T., Quick, J., Barclay, A., Bertz, M., Blaut, M., Hansen, R., McGrogan, P., Russell, R.K., Edwards, C.A., & Gerasimidis, K. (2015). Extensive Modulation of the Fecal Metagenome in Children With Crohn's Disease During Exclusive Enteral Nutrition. Am J Gastroenterol, 110(12), 1718-1729.Wolters Kluwer. doi: 10.1038/ajg.2015.357.

Haig, S.J., Quince, C., Davies, R.L., Dorea, C.C., & Collins, G. (2014). Replicating the microbial community and water quality performance of full-scale slow sand filters in laboratory-scale filters. Water Res, 61, 141-151.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2014.05.008.

Haig, S.J. (2011). Adherence of Mannheimia haemolytica to ovine bronchial epithelial cells. Bioscience Horizons, 4(1), 50-60.Oxford University Press (OUP). doi: 10.1093/biohorizons/hzr007.

Haig, S.J., Collins, G., Davies, R.L., Dorea, C.C., & Quince, C. (2011). Biological aspects of slow sand filtration: past, present and future. WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-WATER SUPPLY, 11(4), 468-472.IWA Publishing. doi: 10.2166/ws.2011.076.

Haig, S.J., Davies, R.L., Welch, T.J., Reese, R.A., & Verner-Jeffreys, D.W. (2011). Comparative susceptibility of Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout to Yersinia ruckeri: relationship to O antigen serotype and resistance to serum killing. Vet Microbiol, 147(1-2), 155-161.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.06.022.

Verner-Jeffreys, D.W., Welch, T.J., Schwarz, T., Pond, M.J., Woodward, M.J., Haig, S.J., Rimmer, G.S.E., Roberts, E., Morrison, V., & Baker-Austin, C. (2009). High prevalence of multidrug-tolerant bacteria and associated antimicrobial resistance genes isolated from ornamental fish and their carriage water. In Bereswill, S. (Ed.). PLoS One, 4(12), e8388.Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008388.

Spencer-Williams, I., Theobald, A., Cypcar, C., Casson, L., & Haig, S.J. (2020). AllA comparative study on the antimicrobial efficacy of granulated TAED (Tetraacetylethylenediamine) derived peracetic acid and commercial peracetic acid in urban wastewaters. In 93rd Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference 2020, WEFTEC 2020, (pp. 841-858).

Mathews, J., Theobald, A., Osta-Ustarroz, P., Hugill, J., Hunter, G., Burks, P., Drouhard, B., Spencer-Williams, I., Hillock, K.A., Haig, S.J., & Casson, L.W. (2019). A new international disinfectant: Using granulated TAED (tetraacetylethylenediamine) derived peracetic acid for wastewater disinfection. In WEFTEC 2019 - 92nd Annual Water Environment Federation's Technical Exhibition and Conference, (pp. 4124-4127).