Joseph H. Bisesi Jr., Ph.D.

Dr. Joseph Bisesi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Global Health and a member of the Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology and the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida. Dr. Bisesi will extract water samples for environmental DNA that can be used to provide clues about the distribution of native, endangered, and invasive species in the everglades along the Willoughby Expedition Route.

Dr. Bisesi’s research experience and expertise includes studying the impacts of waterborne chemical contaminants on humans and aquatic wildlife through the use of both field and laboratory experiments. As part of this research, he has focused on developing methods for analysis of chemical contaminants and biological markers, such as DNA and RNA, in complex matrices including water, municipal wastewater, and tissues. Dr. Bisesi has used these techniques to quantify the impacts of chemicals on the community composition and function of aquatic organisms from environmental samples. He has also led efforts at the University of Florida and surrounding cities to utilize environmental samples to track SARS-CoV-2 community transmission and identify emerging variants. Beyond the use of environmental samples for surveillance, Dr. Bisesi also examines how legacy and emerging contaminants impact aquatic organisms on a molecular and individual level by utilizing traditional and non-traditional fish and invertebrate models which allows him to work across human health toxicology and ecotoxicology to address complex public and environmental health issues related to environmental contaminants. Dr. Bisesi will be analyzing the expedition’s water samples to look for eDNA with a focus on invasive and endangered species.