Absar Alum joined the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University as an assistant research professor in 2001. His research is in the area of health-related environmental microbiology with primary focus on the survival, transport, and control of microbial pathogens in soil, fresh water, wastewater, biofilms and biosolids. He has extensive experience in the application of cultural and molecular techniques for the detection of bacteria, viruses, parasites, algae and fungi. He is also involved in the development of rapid methodologies for the detection of pathogens. Alum played an instrumental role in the establishment of environmental toxicology research at ASU using cell culture-based assay.