Specialty: Legionella

Dr. Abe Cullom is the Director of Water Safety and Management at the Special Pathogens Laboratory, a Pace® Laboratory. A cross-disciplinary expert, Dr. Cullom translates insights from engineering, microbiology, and chemistry into practical solutions to mitigate disease risks in water systems and help make steps toward ending the waterborne illness: Legionnaire’s disease. His expertise plays a crucial role in safeguarding drinking water for human consumption.

With a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech, co-advised by Dr. Amy Pruden and Dr. Marc Edwards, Dr. Cullom has positioned himself as a dynamic leader in building water safety. During his academic journey, he was awarded the coveted NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, as well as an IIE-GIRE Fellowship to perform research at the prestigious KWR Water Research Institute in The Netherlands. His peer-reviewed research has elucidated the impact of the in-building plumbing environment on important opportunistic pathogens—like pseudomonas aeruginosa, non-tuberculous mycobacteria—antibiotic resistance, and microbial ecology. He is also well-versed in analytical methods and contemporary metagenomics.