ABOUT
​Advanced Environmental Molecular Analytics Ltd (AEMA) is a health tech start-up operating in the wastewater monitoring sector. AEMA is a company born out of the leading wastewater-based research laboratory from the University of Ottawa. Its team is responsible for establishing the first daily wastewater surveillance program in North America running since April 8, 2020, in Canada’s capital, Ottawa. AEMA mission is to develop state-of-the-art method of wastewater monitoring and simplify it into turnkey solutions for private and public laboratories, so they can use it to keep their population safe.
FOUNDING TEAM
Elisabeth Mercier
Co-founder
Elisabeth Mercier is a chemical engineering and biochemistry graduate from the University of Ottawa who is pursuing her graduate studies work in the development and optimization of wastewater-based surveillance techniques. She has extensive molecular biology experience has been leading the sample processing operation and data analysis automation for the wastewater surveillance program.
Patrick M. D' Aoust
Co-founder
Patrick M. D’Aoust is a civil engineering graduate from University of Ottawa. As part of his Ph.D thesis, he led the work on sampling techniques for small communities’ system in Canada. He has extensive field-work experience and has been leading field implementations and sampling plans related to COVID-19 testing in wastewater treatment plants.
Dr. Robert Delatolla
Co-founder
Robert Delatolla is a Full Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa and the Associate Director of the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Environmental Engineering. Professor Delatolla's research group has spearheaded the COVID-19 wastewater-based monitoring in Canada. He is a member of the Canadian Water Network National Research Advisory Group.