JAYLab UCLA

Dr. Jennifer Jay

B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

For the last seventeen years, Jennifer Jay has been a Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of California Los Angeles. She specializes in the fate and transport of chemical and microbial contaminants in the environment. Her research addresses a wide range of topics including coastal water quality, environmental proliferation of antibiotic resistance, and the role of environmental education in shifts toward diets with lower carbon footprints.

Dr. Yuwei Kong

B.E., Hunan University, China
M.S., University of California, Los Angeles
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Yuwei Kong (she/her) holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from UCLA and is currently a postdoctoral researcher. Her work focuses on advancing water quality monitoring by integrating remote sensing, metagenomic analysis, and accessible culture-based techniques. She aims to develop more equitable and scalable methodologies for monitoring surface waters. 

Katie Osborn

B.S., University of California, Los Angeles
M.S., University of California, Los Angeles

Katie Osborn is a 4^th year PhD Candidate in Dr. Jay’s lab, specializing in environmental and water resources engineering with a focus on interdisciplinary research that bridges together antibiotic resistance monitoring, remote sensing water and air quality applications, public health, and community engagement.

Soham Ray

B.S., University of California, Santa Barbara

Soham Ray is an Environmental Engineering Ph.D. Candidate and a NSF GRFP Fellow at UCLA. Before beginning his doctoral studies, Soham worked in wetland restoration, seaweed aquaculture, and air quality monitoring in Southern California. Now, working under his primary advisor Dr. Shaily Mahendra and Dr. Jenny Jay, Soham is researching the bioremediation of 1,4-dioxane and other environmental contaminants and the fate and transport of antibiotic resistance genes.

Yuhui Zhang

B.S., University of California, Los Angeles
M.S., University of California, Los Angeles

Yuhui Zhang is a first-year PhD candidate in Dr. Jay’s Lab. Her primary research interests focus on the monitoring of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in areas near concentrated animal feeding operations, coastal waters, and recreational water bodies. She is currently exploring the feasibility of using low-cost water quality monitoring kits to predict potential health risks.

Zanobia Ibrahim-Watkins

B.S., Cal State LA College of ECST
M.S., University of California, Los Angeles