Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein
Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein is a water quality specialist, improving water quality through community-engaged research and outreach. She directs the WOW (Water quality, Outreach, and Wellness) Lab. Her current projects include evaluating the microbial safety of harvested rainwater for produce irrigation, on-farm well water quality, determining the risk of exposure to pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria from sanitary sewer overflows, and health risks from septic failures caused by sea-level rise. She received a PhD in Toxicology and Environmental Health and an MPH in Environmental Health from the University of Maryland, as well as a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Departments/Units
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health
- CONSERVE Center for Sustainable Water Reuse, Food and Health
Areas of Interest
Core FacultyEnvironmental Microbiology; Water Reuse; Sewage Backups; Environmental Communication; Urban Agriculture; Wellness
Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein is a water quality specialist, analyzing water quality and the most effective ways to communicate about water. She also directs the WOW (Water quality, Outreach, and Wellness) Lab where her research focuses on improving water quality through community-engaged research and outreach.
In addition, Dr. Goldstein is the co-project director of the Outreach and Extension team of CONSERVE, a Center of Excellence at the Nexus of Sustainable Water Reuse, Food & Health. She is interested in integrating scientific research with the social sciences to develop creative solutions to environmental challenges and improve wellness for all.
Her current projects include evaluating the microbial safety of harvested rainwater for produce irrigation, on-farm well water quality, determining the risk of exposure to pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria from sanitary sewer overflows, and health risks from septic failures caused by sea-level rise.
Prior to her career at the University of Maryland, Dr. Goldstein worked as an environmental communications specialist providing communications support to the US Environmental Protection Agency on a number of environmental issues, including water conservation. She received a PhD in Toxicology and Environmental Health, an MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Maryland and a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
PhD, Toxicology and Environmental Health, 2013
University of Maryland, College Park
MPH, Environmental Health Sciences, 2010
University of Maryland, College Park
BA, Environmental Studies, 2005
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
MIEH 600 Foundations of Environmental Health
MIEH 773 Foodborne, Waterborne and Airborne Infectious Diseases
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Cornerstone Award: Optimize Urban Environments Through Design, Green Technology, and Community Engagement. Rooftop Runoff Irrigating Produce Eaten Raw (RRIPER) Program, May 2020
Video Communication Award, National Finalist, National Association County Agricultural Agents (NACAA), May 2020
Video Communication Award, State Winner, National Association County Agricultural Agents (NACAA), April 2020
Delta Omega, Gamma Zeta Chapter, University of Maryland School of Public Health, the Honorary Society in Public Health, 2011
Dean’s Fellowship, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, Fall 2010 – May 2013
Maryland Water Resources Research Center 2010 Summer Fellowship, University of Maryland, College Park, May-August, 2010
Dean’s Graduate Scholar, University of Maryland, College Park, March 2010
American Public Health Association Environment Section's Student Achievement Poster Award, APHA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, November 2009
Phi Beta Kappa, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2005
Kim S, Micallef SA, Rosenberg Goldstein R, Sapkota AR, Parveen S, Hashem F, Kniel KE, Sharma M, Pachepsky Y. 2023. Temporal stability of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in surface waters used for irrigation in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Journal of Food Protection. 86 (4), 100058, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100058.
Kim S, Paul M, Negahban-Azar M, Micallef SA, Rosenberg Goldstein R, Hashem F, Parveen S, Sapkota A, Kniel KE, Sapkota AR, Pachepsky Y, Sharma M. 2022. Persistent Spatial Patterns of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica Concentrations in Surface Waters: Empirical Orthogonal Function Analysis of Data from Maryland and Delaware. Appl. Sci. 12(15), 7526; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157526
Morgado ME, Hudson CL, Chattopadhyay S, Ta K, East C, Purser N, Allard S, Ferrier MD, Sapkota AR, Sharma M, Rosenberg Goldstein RE. 2022. The effect of a first-flush rainwater harvesting and subsurface irrigation system on E. coli and pathogen concentrations in irrigation water, soil, and produce. Science of the Total Environment. 843, 156976; https://doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156976
Gerdes M, Aistis L, Sachs N, Williams M, Roberts J, Rosenberg Goldstein RE. 2022. Reducing Anxiety with Nature and Gardening (RANG): Evaluating the Impacts of Gardening and Outdoor Activities on Anxiety among U.S. Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19(9), 5121; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095121
Gerdes M, Cruz-Cano R, Ammons SA, Allard S, Sapkota AR, Micallef SA, and Rosenberg Goldstein RE. 2022. Impact of irrigation water type and sampling frequency on Microbial Water Quality Profiles required for compliance with U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule standards. Environmental Research. 205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.112480.
Acheamfour CL , Parveen S, Hashem F, Sharma M, Gerdes ME, May EB, Rogers E, Haymaker J, Duncan R, Foust D, Taabodi M , Handy ET, East C, Bradshaw R, Kim S, Micallef SA, Callahan MT, Allard S, Anderson-Coughlin B, Craighead S, Gartley S, Vanore A, Kniel KE, Solaiman S, Bui A, Murray R, Craddock HA, Kulkarni P, Rosenberg Goldstein RE, Sapkota AR. 2021. Levels of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes levels in alternative irrigation water vary based on water source on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Microbiology Spectrum. 9(2):e0066921. doi: 10.1128/Spectrum.00669-21.
Malayil L, Negahban-Azar M, Rosenberg Goldstein R, Sharma M, Gleason J, Muise A, Murray R, Sapkota AR. 2021. Zoom’ing Our Way Through Virtual Undergraduate Research Training: A Successful Redesign of the CONSERVE Summer Internship Program". Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. 22(1):22.1.90. doi: 10.1128/jmbe.v22i1.2625
Gerdes M, Suri MR, and Rosenberg Goldstein RE. 2020. Traditional approaches for educating farmers about nontraditional water: Evaluating preferred outreach, education, and methods for alleviating concerns. Journal of Environmental Management. 270.
Dong Y, Jiang C, Suri MR, Pee D, Meng L, Rosenberg Goldstein RE. 2019. Groundwater level changes in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, 2002-2016. Environmental Research. 171: 193-203
Suri MR, Dery JL, Pérodin J, Brassill NA, He X, Rock CM, Rosenberg Goldstein RE. 2019. Agricultural adaptation for climate change: U.S. farmers' perceptions and willingness to use nontraditional water sources for agricultural irrigation. Environmental Research. 172: 345-357.
Murray RT, Rosenberg Goldstein RE, Maring EF, Pee DG, Aspinwall K, Wilson SM, Sapkota AR. 2018. Prevalence of Microbial and Chemical Contaminants in Private Drinking Water Wells in Maryland, USA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15(8): 1686.
Goldstein RR, Lara M. Kleinfelter, Xin He, Shirley A. Micallef, Ashish George, Shawn G. Gibbs, Amy R. Sapkota. 2017. Higher prevalence of coagulase-negative staphylococci carriage among reclaimed water spray irrigators. Sci Total Environ, 595: 35-40.
Rosenberg Goldstein RE, Cruz-Cano R, Jiang C, Palmer A, Blythe D, Ryan P, Hogan B, White B, Dunn JR, Libby T, Tobin-D’Angelo M, Huang JY, McGuire S, Scherzinger K, Ting Lee M-L and Sapkota AR. 2016. Association between community socioeconomic factors, animal feeding operations, and campylobacteriosis incidence rates: Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), 2004–2010. BMC Infectious Diseases 16:354.
Rosenberg Goldstein RE, Micallef SA, Gibbs SG, He X, George A, Sapkota A, Joseph SW and Sapkota AR. 2014. Occupational Exposure to Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus spp. among Spray Irrigation Workers Using Reclaimed Water. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 11(4): 4340-4355
Rosenberg Goldstein RE, Micallef SA, Gibbs SG, George A, Claye E, Sapkota A, Joseph SW, and Sapkota AR. 2014. Detection of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) at Four U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants that Provide Effluent for Reuse. Science of the Total Environment. 466-467:404-11.
Rosenberg Goldstein RE, Micallef SA, Gibbs SG, Davis JA, George A, Kleinfelter LM, Schreiber NA, Mukherjee S, Sapkota A, Joseph SW, and Sapkota AR. 2012. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Detected At Four U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants. Environmental Health Perspectives. 120(11): 1551-1558.
Micallef SA, Rosenberg Goldstein RE, George A, Kleinfelter LM, Boyer MS, McLaughlin CR, Estrin A, Ewing L, Jean-Gilles Beaubrun J, Hanes DE, Kothary MH, Tall BD, Razeq JH, Joseph SW, and Sapkota AR. 2012. Occurrence and Antibiotic Resistance of Multiple Salmonella Serotypes Recovered from Water, Sediment and Soil on Mid-Atlantic Tomato Farms. Environmental Research. 114:31-9.