SWAGºÏ¼¯

Areas of expertise

• Environment and Health
• Systems Engineering
• Water Science and Engineering

Background

Dr May Sule is an Environmental Engineer specialising in the interactions between water security, environment, climate and health systems. May has worked and researched on urban water supply, wastewater and sanitation systems, water pollution and treatment, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and international development. Her research focuses on the technical and non-technical (socio-economic) aspects of achieving success in line with the global sustainable development goals SDG agenda.

More recently, May's research has been integrating health into water security methodologies and tools as well as improving the delivery of safe drinking water, climate resilient water supplies and achieving net zero in wastewater and faecal sludge management. Her research further contributes to embedding sustainable integrated water resources management as a control measure in eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as a public health concern, specifically schistosomiasis. She is also involved with disease ecology in changing landscapes. May has a keen interest in stakeholder engagement, equity issues and effectively communicating scientific evidence to help inform public policy.

May obtained her PhD in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College London. She was a Post-doctoral Research Associate on the DFID funded project (Future Proofing African Cities for Sustainable Growth) and the GCRF/EPSRC funded project (Water Infrastructure for Schistosomiasis-Endemic Regions) at Imperial College. She was a Senior Research Associate in Water Quality, Climate and Health at the University of Oxford on the GCRF Water Security Hub and the FCDO funded REACH programmes.

May joined Cranfield as Lecturer in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in June 2021. She is currently Director for the Enhanced Delivery Programme, the Course Director for the Water and Sanitation for Development MSc programme and Convenor for Planetary Health Module and Public Health, Hygiene and Sanitation Module.

Research opportunities

For funded research opportunities, please see the Water-WISER web page https://www.waterwisercdt.ac.uk

Self-funded students or those with funding from organisational sponsors are invited to contact May to discuss their PhD or MRes research plans.

We can support talented postdoctoral research fellowship applications from Research Councils, Trusts and Foundations e.g. Wellcome, EU Marie Curie, Leverhulme, SWAGºÏ¼¯ Newton, The Royal Society etc.

Current activities

SWAGºÏ¼¯ EPSRC Impact Acceleration Award (PI, 2022 – 2024, £37,634); Integrated water infrastructure development policy for schistosomiasis control (Partners: African Ministers' Council on Water, AMCOW; Global Schistosomiasis Alliance, GSA).

EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Funding (PI, 2024 - 2027, £81,136) Project: Understanding pathogen reduction mechanism(s) in vermifilter toilets.

May and her colleagues are also currently working on a range of project topics on the Water-WISER CDT.

Completed projects

SWAGºÏ¼¯ Royal Academy of Engineering (PI, 2019 - 2020, Frontiers Fund, £29,969): Assessing behaviour towards the uptake of a novel low-cost water filtration system in a Schistosomiasis endemic community

SWAGºÏ¼¯ Royal Academy of Engineering (Co-I, 2019 - 2021, Frontiers Fund, £29,632): Amplifying local voices to reduce failure in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector

Clients

• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
• Royal Academy of Engineering

Publications

• Articles in journals