Sinan Sousan, PhD

Associate Professor

Office: Brody 6W43
Phone: 252-328-2947
Email: sousans18@ecu.edu

Dr. Sinan Sousan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at ECU and North Carolina Agromedicine Institute. His focus is on airborne exposures (aerosols and toxic gases) and their health effects. His specific expertise is related to exposure measurements and the potential health effects, based on the quantitative analysis of the collected data. His interests extend to physical hazards, including extreme temperatures, UV exposure, and noise. His current active projects include personal exposure assessment using low-cost sensors, quantifying secondhand electronic cigarette exposure, evaluating insecticide efficacy for mosquito control, and assessing heat stress with personal devices.

Dr. Sousan has been an educator for over twenty years, teaching at higher education levels and serving as a mentor for current and future generations of professionals. His current teaching and mentoring objectives are to educate students in public health and promote the safety and well-being of workers.

Dr. Sousan directs the Aerosol Research Laboratory, and his goals are to assess, treat, and control environmental and occupational hazards. Specifically, these include aerosols and toxic airborne chemical hazards, biological hazards related to airborne pathogens, and physical hazards such as extreme temperatures, UV exposure, and noise.

Education

  • Postdoctoral Student Scholar, Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, July 2018
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, July 2012
  • Master of Science, Chemical Engineering, The University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, June 2000
  • Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering, The University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, June 1997

Courses Taught

  • PUBH 8005 Advanced Control of Occupational Hazards
  • PUBH 8003 Issues and Case Studies in Occupational Medicine
  • MPH 6010 Fundamentals of Environmental Health
  • MPH 6992 MPH Professional Paper
  • EHST 3600 Air Pollution
  • EHST 3060 Environmental Issues in Construction
  • EHST 2110 Intro Environmental Health Science
  • EHST 3501 Problems in Environmental Health
  • EHST 6210 Topics in Environmental Health and Safety
  • HNRS 4500 Senior Honors Project
  • HLTH 4500 Independent Study

Areas of Interest

  • Agricultural airborne exposure, safety and health
  • Minimizing the effects of airborne exposure by using low-cost sensors to estimate personal, environmental, and occupational exposures
  • Second-hand electronic cigarette exposure
  • COVID-19 airborne exposure detection and control
  • Measuring respirator filter efficiency and cartridge service life
  • Occupational and environmental exposure assessment, prevention, and control (airborne and physical hazards)
  • Indoor air quality and air treatment
  • Aerosol generation, sampling, control, detection, and characterization
  • Bioaerosol sampling and treatment
  • Air quality modeling

Funding

Ongoing

  1. Miniature wind tunnel for the testing of pesticides; will lead to creation of a CRO in eastern NC, Summer 2025 – Current (Co-I; $497,882)
    Grantor: NC Innovation (https://ncinnovation.org)
  2. Insecticide Resistance Testing of Formulated Products in North Carolina Mosquitoes Spring 2025 – Current (Co-I; $110,000)
    Grantor: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
  3. Estimating core body temperature using physiological and environmental factors, Fall 2024 – Current (PI; $22,650)
    Grantor: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30), Sub-Award from North Carolina State University

Previous

  1. Development of a novel compact wind tunnel for testing formulated products against mosquitoes and other insects, Spring 2024 – Spring 2025 (Co-PI; $27,500)
    Grantor: North Carolina Biotechnology Center
  2. WBGT-based Heat Stress Assessment Mobile Application, Fall 2023- Fall 2024 (Co-PI; $26,834)
    Grantor: The American Industrial Hygiene Association
  3. Electronic cigarette use inside of vehicles and associated secondhand and thirdhand exposures (Soule), 8/20-8/23 (Co-I; $439,844)
    Grantor: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R15)
  4. A user-friendly and low-cost portable air pollution sensor for community-engaged research on environmental health disparities, 8/20-8/21 (Co-I; $31,000)
    Grantor: NCSU Center for Human Health and the Environment
  5. HVAC Sampling and detection of COVID-19, Spring 2021 (PI; $29,877)
    Grantor: CARES Act Funding
  6. PPE Innovation N95 Project, Spring 2020 – Fall 2020 (PI; $202,200)    Grantor: CARES Act Funding
  7. Team Science to Support Sustainable Animal Agriculture in North Carolina, 8/19-5/21
    Grantor: UNC System Interdisciplinary Project Grant program (Co-I; $55,000)

Honors and Awards

  • ECU 2025 Research & Scholarship Awards Invention Recognition
  • The Innovator of the Month/ECU Office of Licensing and Commercialization
  • ECU Honors College/The Faculty Mentor Award
  • American Industrial Hygiene Association Poster Award
  • The American Association for Aerosol Research, 28th Annual Conference, Student Poster Competition Winner
  • Fulbright Scholarship Award – Teaching Assistant/ Research Assistant (University of Iowa)

Representative Publications

  • Sousan, S., Wu, R., Popoviciu, C., Fresquez, S., & Park, Y. M. (2025). Advancing low-cost air quality monitor calibration with machine learning methods. Environmental Pollution, 374, 126191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126191
  • Sousan, S., Mooring, R., Fresquez, S., Park, Y. M., Coombs, V., Bertges, N., Soule, E. K. (2023). Use of real-time monitors to evaluate the potential exposure of secondhand electronic cigarette particulate matter inside vehicles. Environmental Pollution, 122480. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122480
  • Sousan, S., Anthony, T. R., Altmaier, R., Gibbs, J., & Nonnenmann, M. (2023). Use of prototype side stream filtration system to control dust levels in a commercial swine farrowing building. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 1-16. doi:10.1080/15459624.2023.2247457
  • Sousan, S., Wu, Q., Park, Y. M., Fresquez, S., Batts, N., Bertges, N., Soule, E. (2023). Laboratory determination of gravimetric correction factors for real-time area measurements of electronic cigarette aerosols: Part 2. Aerosol Science and Technology, 57(8), 810–825. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2023.2193234
  • Sousan, S., Fan, M., Outlaw, K., Williams, S., & Roper, R. L. (2022). SARS-CoV-2 Detection in air samples from inside heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems- COVID surveillance in student dorms. American Journal of Infection Control, 50(3), 330-335. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2021.10.009
  • Sousan, S., Streuber, D., Park, Y. M., Coombs, V., Pender, J., & Soule, E. (2022). Evaluation of low-cost aerosol and gas sensors for real-time measurements of electronic cigarette exposure. Aerosol Science and Technology, 1-12. doi:10.1080/02786826.2022.2154192
  • Sousan, S., Pender, J., Streuber, D., Haley, M., Shingleton, W., & Soule, E. (2022). Laboratory Determination of Gravimetric Correction Factors for Real-time Area Measurements of Electronic Cigarette Aerosols. Aerosol Science and Technology, 1-17. doi:10.1080/02786826.2022.2047152
  • Sousan, S., Iverson, G., Humphrey, C., Lewis, A., Streuber, D., & Richardson, L. (2021). High-frequency assessment of air and water quality at a concentration animal feeding operation during wastewater application to spray fields. Environ Pollut, 288, 117801. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117801
  • Sousan, S., Garcia, N., White, A., & Balanay, J. A. (2021). Filtration efficiency of surgical sterilization fabric for respiratory protection during COVID-19 pandemic. American Journal of Infection Control, 49(1), 1-7. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2020.11.005
  • Sousan, S., Regmi, S., & Park, Y. M. (2021). Laboratory Evaluation of Low-Cost Optical Particle Counters for Environmental and Occupational Exposures. Sensors, 21(12), 4146. doi:10.3390/s21124146

For full publication history see: ‪Sinan Sousan, Ph.D.‬ – ‪Google Scholar‬

Dr. Sinan Sousan Curriculum Vitae (PDF)