Martha Dagnew, Associate Professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Western University, also leads the Biofilm Engineering and Wastewater Resource Recovery Laboratory at Western University and directs the Greenway Wastewater Technology Testing Bay at the City of London's Greenway Pollution Control Plant. She was selected in the first Canadian cohort for the distinguished 3M 25 Women in Science Program. 

One of her notable contributions is her work on source water protection, where she develops comprehensive frameworks, technologies and processes to safeguard source waters amidst changing environmental conditions. Her research encompasses a holistic approach to addressing water pollution and scarcity, focusing on developing smaller-footprint treatment technologies for existing and new water systems. 

Dagnew 's pioneering efforts extend to her work on anaerobic membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment. This innovative technology combines traditional anaerobic processes with membrane technology, offering a smaller footprint solution for water treatment while generating energy and recovering nutrients. 

Now, as an associate professor at Western University, she leads groundbreaking research initiatives to protect source water in the face of climate change. Her work focuses on advancing nutrient load reduction techniques, encompassing energy-efficient membrane-aerated biofilm, ZeeLight and the passive rope-type BioCord media. Additionally, she is developing processes and technologies for destroying forever chemicals (PFAS), notably the innovative green ePFASx Tech.