Our global health research aims to improve infectious disease control in countries around the world and has been published in top journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and PNAS. Our work is also featured in Nature, Science, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Forbes Magazine, and others. We use disease surveillance data to study large-scale patterns of disease spread across country borders and to assess the impact of childhood vaccination programs.
Epidemic spread of infectious disease
We use large-scale global health data to study patterns of spread for epidemic diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases in Southeast Asia and Latin America such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya virus. We worked with partners in eight Southeast Asia countries to study patterns of dengue virus and their relation to climate factors. We found that major epidemic occurred simultaneously in most countries and detected traveling waves of dengue spread. We also found a strong correlation with high temperatures and El Niño. This work was published in in PNAS and featured in international media. We continue to use innovative analytics to study large-scale patterns of disease spread and the role of climate using high-resolution global health data.
Impact of childhood vaccination programs
We also study the historical impact of childhood vaccination programs in the United States and Europe. Using 125 years of weekly disease surveillance data we found that 100 million cases of seven childhood diseases were prevented by vaccination in the US between 1924 and 2010. This work was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and widely featured by national and international media. We are continuing these studies using additional disease surveillance, vaccination coverage, cost, and other data.
We always welcome new research collaborations and ideas, so if you are interested in working with us, or have ideas, let us know!