Assistant Professor
Division of Environmental Health
Email: dkaya@sdsu.edu
Education
• Postdoctoral training, Microbiology, University of Tennessee Knoxville & Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University
• Visiting Ph.D. Student, Marine Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, MD, USA
• M.Sc., Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University
• B.Sc., Environmental Engineering, Istanbul University
Scholarly Interests
Objective: To develop cost-effective, safe, and sustainable methods and technologies for protecting human life and health, while considering animal health and welfare, plant health, and environmental preservation. Achieving this goal involves identifying environmental problems and governing processes through the use of theories, observations, experiments, data synthesis, and subsequent policy changes.
Areas of Focus:
• Infectious disease management (including wastewater-based epidemiology and antibiotic resistance control).
• Water quality management: wastewater (including stormwater) treatment, reuse, and management, including treatability studies.
• Fate and transport of contaminants of emerging concerns, including pathogens in aquatic and terrestrial systems.
• Application and development of molecular tools to identify novel microorganisms and their metabolic functions with respect to biodegradation and biotransformation.
• Environmental exposure assessment.
• Studying health disparities in relation to environmental factors.
• Bioremediation of contaminated sites.
• Ecosystem and biogeochemical processes, with a focus on nutrient cycles and limitations.
• Biodegradation and renewable energy through anaerobic biotechnology.
Biography
Dr. Kaya is an Assistant Professor in the division of Environmental Health at the School of Public Health and in Imperial Valley at San Diego State University. She specializes in Water-Energy-Food-Climate nexus and its impact on Public Health. Since 2002, she has addressed environmental and public health issues, by leveraging her background and expertise in engineering, microbiology, chemistry, -omic technologies, and AI/ML. Her areas of expertise include wastewater-based epidemiology; water treatment and reuse; bioremediation of contaminated sites; risk assessment; characterization-fate-transport of contaminants of concerns, including pathogens in various environments; anaerobic digestion; environmental microbiology; development of molecular tools and analytical methods. Throughout her academic career, Dr. Kaya has mentored and supported students, fostering safe and inclusive research environments to empower students in accomplishing their professional goals. Awarded for research and mentoring, including 2023 NIH’s AIM-AHEAD Fellowship in Leadership, OSU’s 2022 Excellence Award in Undergraduate Research Mentoring, NIH’s AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship Mentorship, the ASM Peggy Cotter Early Career Award, and NSF ACADEME fellowship. She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, American Society for Microbiology, and the International Water Association.
Publications
For an up to date publications list see Google Scholar.
