Biography

Dr. Ameet J. Pinto is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, USA. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Mumbai and University of Alaska Fairbanks, respectively. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Nancy Love at Virginia Tech in 2009 and then worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Michigan with Professor Lutgarde Raskin. He was a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow from 2012 to 2015, before joining Northeastern University in 2016. His research focuses on microbial ecosystems at the interface of infrastructure and public and environmental health. Dr. Pinto’s research has shown that the drinking water microbiome conforms to reproducible ecological patterns that may allow for its spatial-temporal predictions and that the microbial community at the tap may be controlled through the appropriate management of biofilters at the drinking water treatment plant. He was awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2018 to build on these findings to develop a spatial-temporal predictive framework for the drinking water microbiome. His work has also expanded interest in the drinking water microbiome beyond its traditional focus of pathogenic microorganisms, to include novel microbes of significant engineering and biological significance (e.g., complete ammonia oxidizing bacteria). His current research focusses on utilizing genome resolved metagenomics to understand how microbial communities respond to the selective pressures imparted by different water treatment processes and how these selective pressures may be managed to shape the drinking water microbiome to be safe and healthy.