Upcoming Webinar: Addressing High Risk Substance Use Through Wastewater Intelligence

Founded in 2017, Biobot is well known for infectious disease tracking, and for being the authority in wastewater data for COVID-19. However, our first wastewater monitoring platform was built to solve the opioid overdose epidemic. Biobot shifted focus to help take on the pandemic crisis in early 2020, partnering with local communities across the US as well as the CDC, but never lost sight of the need to tackle global high-risk substance use. 

In 2021 the U.S. saw record-breaking fatal overdoses, worsening an already harrowing epidemic during the COVID-19 pandemic, driving Biobot into quick action. Last fall we proudly launched a new and improved High Risk Substance (HRS) Wastewater Monitoring Platform, empowering community leaders to better understand and respond in real-time to high-risk substance use in their areas.

To learn about how community wastewater is a powerful tool in fighting the opioid epidemic, please join us for a webinar on August 1, 2023 along with our partner, the County of Marin. There we’ll share how a unique community partnership and wastewater intelligence is addressing high risk substance use in their community.

What’s the webinar about?

You’ll hear from Biobot CEO and cofounder, Mariana Matus, on how leveraging sewage can help officials build more timely interventions and solutions. You’ll also hear from Alex Buben, a Biobot epidemiologist who designed, with Marin County, a monitoring program right for their community. And from Haylea Hannah, Senior Department Analyst, County of Marin, on how wastewater intelligence is already making an impact, as well as hopes for the future of the program (and others like it). You’ll also learn:

• How wastewater intelligence data can be used to track the spread of opioids in a community
• How this data can be used to target prevention and intervention efforts
• The challenges and opportunities of using wastewater intelligence data to address the opioid epidemic

Who should attend? 

This webinar is for anyone who is interested in learning more about how wastewater intelligence data can be used to address the opioid epidemic. Whether you’re a public health professional, a policymaker, or simply someone who wants to be informed about this important issue, this conversation is for you.

Learn more about how Biobot’s High Risk Substances Monitoring Platform works: 

Wastewater monitoring can passively track many chemical and biological markers that are excreted in human stool and urine and then found in sewage. Pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, MPXV, RSV, influenza, and more can be detected in wastewater, which then helps public health officials predict and mitigate disease outbreaks. Opioids and other HRS are also detectable in wastewater and this data can be used to help officials better understand and respond to substance use trends in communities.