Claudia K. Gunsch

Muriel Theodorsen Williams E'46 Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Claudia Gunsch is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and holds secondary appointments in the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She joined the Duke Faculty in 2004 after obtaining her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, her MS from Clemson University and her BS from Purdue University. Currently, she serves as the Director for PreMiEr, the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering which is a joint venture between Duke University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. She also serves as an Associate Director for the Duke Microbiome Center. Previous leadership roles include serving as Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure for the Pratt School of Engineering (2021-2022), Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement (2019-2021) and as the Director of IBIEM (Integrative Bioinformatics for Investigating and Engineering Microbiomes), a joint graduate training program between Duke and North Carolina A&T State University (2015-2021).

 

Dr. Gunsch’s research bridges environmental engineering and molecular biotechnology. Current research foci include investigating the ecological impacts of emerging contaminants on environmental microbiomes, developing microbiome engineering approaches for bioremediation, studying microbial evolution following exposure to anthropogenic contaminants and developing innovative water treatment technologies. Her work has been funded in excess of $36 million by the National Science Foundation, US Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute for Environmental Health and Safety as well as state funding agencies and private industry.  Since becoming a faculty member, she has served as the primary mentor for 28 graduate students (8 MS and 20 PhD), 34 undergraduate students and 8 postdoctoral associates. She has been recognized for her research, teaching and service activities with several awards including the 2009 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award, 2013 Langford Lectureship Award, 2016 Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising and the 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize. Dr. Gunsch was also named ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute Fellow in 2022, Bass Fellow in 2016 and Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering for the United States Frontiers of Engineering in 2011 as well as the Indo-American Frontiers of Engineering in 2014.

 

She currently serves as Editor in Chief for Biodegradation. She is also a member of the Editorial Board for npj Clean Water and Industrial Biotechnology.  She serves on the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Board of Directors and has previously held several leadership roles within the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI).  Most recently, she served as the Environmental Council representative to the Technical Executive Committee to EWRI. 

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Muriel Theodorsen Williams E'46 Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr)
  • Professor of Biomedical Engineering
  • Professor in the Division of Environmental Natural Sciences

Contact Information

Education

  • B.S. Purdue University, 1998
  • M.S. Clemson University, 2000
  • Ph.D. University of Texas, Austin, 2004

Research Interests

Identifying genetic adaptation mechanisms resulting from anthropogenic contaminant exposure; developing biosensors capable of pathogen and contaminant detection in water and air; studying the impact of emerging contaminants on aquatic microbial ecology; and the development of novel techniques for controlling pathogen proliferation

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

  • Fellow. ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute. 2022
  • Fellow. ELATES. 2018
  • Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize. ASCE. 2016
  • Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising. Pratt School of Engineering. 2016
  • Langford Lectureship Award. Duke University. 2013
  • Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2009
  • NSF Graduate Fellowship. National Science Foundation. 1999

Courses Taught

  • ISS 796T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 795T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 396T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 395T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • EGR 101L: Engineering Design and Communication
  • CEE 780: Internship
  • CEE 690: Advanced Topics in Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • CEE 566: Environmental Microbiology

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Buehrer, J. H., M. Lott, K. Zhu, K. Fericy, J. Granek, C. Gunsch, A. A. Jones, J. Brown, G. Morrison, and B. J. Turpin. “Transmission from sink to patient: an evaluation of sink generated bioaerosols and their role in hospital acquired bacterial infections (Accepted).” Journal of Aerosol Science 197 (September 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2026.106852.
  • Babusci, Erica, and Claudia K. Gunsch. “Draft genome sequence of Elizabeth River PAH-degrading fungal isolates Trichoderma deliquescens and Aureobasidium sp.” Microbiology Resource Announcements 15, no. 5 (May 2026): e0108925. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01089-25.
  • Gunsch, Claudia K., and Joe Brown. “Rethinking Microbiome of the Built Environment (MoBE) Management: From Pathogen-Centric Control to Microbiome-Informed Engineering.” Environmental Science & Technology 60, no. 17 (May 2026): 12687–89. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c02788.
  • Talma, Kobi, Joana Sipe, Nathan Bossa, William Stiffler, Evan Hankinson, Claudia Gunsch, and Mark Wiesner. “Material matters: a framework for integrating surface properties into built environment microbiome research.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 92, no. 3 (March 2026): e0203625. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.02036-25.
  • Warren, Bobby Glenn, Amanda M. Graves, Guerbine Fils-Aime, Aaron Barrett, Isadora Mamikunian, Claudia Gunsch, Becky A. Smith, and Deverick J. Anderson. “Efficacy of a foamed disinfectant in reducing pathogen contamination in renovated inpatient in-room sinks: a randomized controlled trial.” Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 47, no. 1 (January 2026): 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2025.10318.