Experts

Walter Jakubowski
Consultant
WaltJay Consulting (Spokane, Washington)

Walt Jakubowski has more than 44 years experience working with waterborne pathogens.  In addition to developing and standardizing methods for the detection of intestinal protozoa and viruses in the environment, he initiated research designed to gather information on the occurrence and distribution of Giardia infection in wildlife. He developed the first practical method for detecting Giardia cysts in drinking waters and was the first to recover cysts, using this method, from source waters and distribution system water from a public water supply involved in a waterborne outbreak. He has worked with a variety of national, state, and local public health authorities on problems related to Giardia and other infectious organisms in water, wastewater, and sludge. Jakubowski chaired the Joint Task Group on Pathogenic Intestinal Protozoa for Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water from 1978 to 2005, and was a charter member of USEPA’s Pathogen Equivalency Committee until his retirement from the U.S. Public Health Service/EPA in 1997.  Since then, he has been practicing as a private consultant while serving on various professional committees, panels, and boards.  Jakubowski received a B.S. in Pharmacy at Long Island University, an M.S. in Microbiology at Oregon State University, and completed graduate training in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.