Prof. Gertjan Medema PhD

Prof. Gertjan Medema (M) has been Chief Microbiologist at KWR since 1996. His main areas of expertise are detection methods, transmission, risk assessment and the epidemiology of waterborne pathogens. He initiated research into the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and coordinated the second-opinion epidemiological investigation into the Legionella outbreak in Flint, Michigan.

His experimental, field and modelling research focuses on the occurrence, transport and inactivation of waterborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in the environment, as well as their removal through water treatment and disinfection. Since 2009, he has been part-time Professor of Water & Health at Delft University of Technology (Sanitary Engineering), and from 2018 to 2022 he was Distinguished Hannah Visiting Professor of Water & Health at Michigan State University.

He has coordinated the joint research programme of the Dutch water companies. He is Director of KWR’s WHO Collaborating Centre for Water Quality and Health and has advised the WHO since 1991 on waterborne pathogens, microbiological guidelines for drinking water and other water uses, and QMRA. He also advised on SARS and WASH in 2003, Ebola and WASH in 2014, and has advised on wastewater surveillance since 2020. Through the WHO, he has advised the European Commission on the EU Drinking Water Directive and water reuse guidelines. He has more than 25 years of experience in European research projects.

In 2024, he received the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, and in 2026 he was elected a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.