His research is currently focused on the bacterial connection between water quality and air quality. This work requires crossing scientific disciplines, re-imagining ecosystem boundaries, and ongoing engagement of watershed communities to better understand the role and fate of bacteria in all phases of the water cycle. Eli has also recently established the Saw Kill Watershed Community, which is a community-based group taking a scientific approach to watershed conservation and protection, and the Bard Water Lab, which is housed in the Bard Ecology Field Station and makes water science accessible to water communities regionally.