Sophia Roy-Burman
Understanding Chlorine Taste Detection & Acceptability in Honduras
Water chlorination efforts across low- and middle-income countries face a common challenge: community members may be deterred by the taste of chlorine and subsequently reject chlorinated water sources. Traveling to Honduras, I will lead a study examining chlorine taste detection and acceptability thresholds across communities with diverse histories of chlorine exposure. Results in Honduras will be integrated with findings from India and Nigeria to understand how these thresholds vary across global contexts. These findings will inform how we design our water chlorinators to better align with community needs and support meaningful engagement with treated water – advancing a more deliberate, reciprocal, and sustainable global health.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you so much for your generosity! It was so rewarding to be able to follow this study from its design up through data collection and now into analysis for my thesis. I really feel like I took so much away from this experience - learning how to manage a dynamic team, build trust and engage community members, and quickly adapt to unprecedented field challenges. I also had a wonderful time getting to work with my collaborators and am excited to have made lots of new friends! I am so grateful for this opportunity; it has been quite formative as I explore how to integrate research into my future path.
Major: Public Health
Mentor: Amy Pickering, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Sponsor: Anselm MPS Fund