Dr Laure Sione

Summary

I am a post-doctoral Research Associate in the Environmental and Water Resource Engineering section, exploring different aspects of delivering potable water supply and sanitation in developing countries, with the aim of improving public health. I have conducted research and co-authored publications with partners in a number of countries, including Nepal, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.

I hold an MEng degree and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Imperial College. My PhD research with the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Civil Engineering  investigated whether citizen science could be used as a tool to assess intermittent water supply systems in data-scarce settings. The greater aim of the research was to assist stakeholders in developing countries make better informed decisions on water supply management by providing them with data that would otherwise be too laborious and costly to obtain.

I went on to do my postdoctoral research on the Pathways to Equitable Healthy Cities project, a large international consortium project funded by the UK Wellcome Trust that aims to advance the science that underpins sustainable urban development and healthier lives. There I explored designing a water consumption monitoring strategy using citizen science-based data collection techniques to better understand water consumption patterns, water quality, and related public health outcomes among different socio-economic groups in Sub-Saharan Africa and thereby inform future water management policy-making.

My current position as the Sanitation Advisor to Oxfam and Water for People sees me design, development, and testing of novel onsite sanitation technologies and faecal sludge management processes for application in developing countries, as part of a strategy to scale-up promising tech such as Tiger Worm Toilets. As such, I am a member of the International Worm-Based Sanitation Association (IWBSA). This research is a part of the Oxfam and Water for People / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Global Sanitation Technology.

I am also a part of the ELMO (Enhancing the Learning Model and Opportunities for University Engineering Education) project in Partnership with Industry, UK and Regional Universities. I lead a work package seeking to improve diversity and inclusion in admissions processes and teaching in Higher Education Partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in the engineering profession, to improve engineering practices locally.

My teaching duties include lecturing in the CIVE70055 Water And Wastewater Treatment MSc module, and co-supervising a number of MSc, MEng and PhD students, both inside and outside of the department.

I take an active involvement in our departmental affairs, including our Equality, Diversity and Departmental Culture Committee , being postdoc rep for the postdoctoral researchers and fellows of the Civil and Environmental Department, and becoming a departmental First Aider.

 

 

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