Thomas Clasen - BA JD MSc PhD

Background

After obtaining a JD from Georgetown University in 1981, I joined Foley & Lardner, a 1000+ lawyer US firm where I was responsible for international business transactions, becoming a partner in 1987. In 1994 I left the firm to become Vice President, General Counsel and a Director of Everett Smith Group, Ltd., a US$1 billion conglomerate.

My interest in waterborne disease arose from investments in point-of-use water treatment technologies (Exstream and First Water). I received my MSc (Control of Infectious Diseases) and PhD (Household Water Treatment for the Prevention of Diarrhoeal Diseases) from the University of London, and have served as Lecturer at LSHTM since 2004.

Teaching/Research

Epidemiology, Operational research, Public health, Infectious disease policy, Diarrhoeal diseases, Water.

Adjunct Professor, School of Law, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

As part of the WHO-sponsored International Network to Promote Safe Household Water Treatment and Storage, I have assisted in the evaluation of low-cost filters in Bolivia (Sumaj Huasi and Food for the Hungry International), Peru (KX Industries), Cambodia (Oxfam), Colombia (Oxfam), the Dominican Republic (Oxfam) and Sierra Leone (Oxfam). The evaluation protocols include microbiological effectiveness, disease impact, acceptability and willingness-to-pay.

Upon completion of these trials, additional projects will be undertaken to evaluate the commercial distribution of the filter systems through social marketing and micro enterprises. In addition to helping design and carry out these trials, I led a group that conducted a Cochrane Review on the Effectiveness of Improvements in the Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water on Diarrhoeal Disease and performed a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of water quality interventions for the WHO.

My research also includes the assessment of uptake (adoption and continued utilization), affordability, scalability and sustainability of household water treatment interventions using public, quasi-commercial (social marketing) and commercial models of

Publications

Clasen T, Roberts I, Rabie T, Schmidt W-P, Cairncross S (2007). Interventions to improve water quality for preventing diarrhoea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ (in press)

Clasen T, Haller L, Walker D, Bartram J, Cairncross S (2007). Cost-effectiveness analysis of water quality interventions for preventing diarrhoeal disease in developing countries. J. Water & Health (in press)

Clasen T, Saeed T, Boisson S, Edmondson P, Shipin O (2007). Household-based chlorination of drinking water using sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC) tablets: a randomized, controlled trial to assess microbiological effectiveness in Bangladesh. Am J. Trop. Med. & Hyg. 76(1) (in press)

Clasen T, Menom S (2007). Microbiological performance of common water treatment devices for household use in India. Int’l J. Environ. Health Research 17(2) (in press)

Clasen T, Roberts I, Rabie T, Schmidt W-P, Cairncross S (2007). Interventions to improve water quality for preventing diarrhoea. Evidence Based Child Health 2(1) (in press)

Clasen T, Roberts I, Rabie T, Schmidt W, Cairncross S (2006). Interventions to improve water quality for preventing diarrhoea (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2006. Oxford: Update Software

Clasen T, Brown J, Collin S (2006). Preventing diarrhoea with household ceramic water filters: assessment of a pilot project in Bolivia. Int'l J. Environ. Health Research 16(3):231-239

Clasen T, Boisson S (2006). Household-based ceramic water filters for the treatment of drinking water in disaster response: an assessment of a pilot programme in the Dominican Republic. Water Practice & Tech. 1:2 doi:10.2166/WPT.2006031

Clasen T, Nadakatti S, Menon S (2006). Microbiological performance of a water treatment unit designed for household use in developing countries. Trop. Med. & Int'l Health 11:1399-1405

Clasen T, Edmondson P (2006). Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC) tablets as an alternative to sodium hypochlorite for the routine treatment of drinking water at the household level. Int'l J. Hyg. & Env. Health 209:173-81able A, Fesselet J-F (2006). The drinking water response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, including the role of household water treatment. Disaster Prevention & Management 15(1): 190-201

Clasen TF, Garcia Parra G, Boisson S, Collin S (2005). Household-based ceramic water filters for the prevention of diarrhea: a randomized, controlled trial of a pilot program in Colombia. Am J Trop. Med. Hyg. 73(4):790-795

Clasen T & Cairncross S (2004). Household water management: refining the dominant paradigm. Trop. Med. Int’l Health 9(2):1-5

Clasen T, Brown J, Suntura O, Collin S, Cairncross S (2004). Reducing diarrhoea through household-based ceramic filtration of drinking water: a randomized, controlled trial in Bolivia. Am J Hyg. & Trop. Med. 70(6): 651-657