CO-DIRECTOR EAVE, PROFESSOR, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Ben Lopman is Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health. Dr. Lopman spent 10 years in London where he earned his Master’s degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Ph.D. while working at the UK’s Health Protection Agency, and conducted post-doctoral work at Imperial College London. Prior to joining the RSPH faculty in 2016, Dr. Lopman served as an epidemiologist with the Division of Viral Diseases at CDC, where he led programs on enteric viruses and vaccine epidemiology. He is the Principal Investigator of multiple NIH, CDC, WHO and BMGF grants and serves as a consultant to the World Health Organization.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator on multiple NIH R01 grants on human social contact and infectious disease transmission
- Principal Investigator on NIH R01 grant modeling norovirus epidemiology and vaccination strategies
- Principal Investigator on NIH, NSF, and WHO on modeling COVID-19 epidemiology and vaccination
- Member, World Health Organization, Enteric Burden of Disease Working Group (2018-present)
- Member, Food Safety Modernization Act, CDC Surveillance Committee (2011-16)
- Winner, Excellence in Surveillance and Health Monitoring Award, CDC/NCIRD (2014)
- Co-Investigator, Emory University Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit (VTEU)
- Member, Molecules and Pathogens to Populations and Pandemics (MP3) Management Committee
- Over 275 peer-reviewed publications in top infectious disease, epidemiology, and general medical journals
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Evaluating performance of vaccines for enteric diseases
- Mathematical modeling of vaccine preventable diseases and impact of vaccination
- Measuring social contact relevant to infectious disease transmission
- Methods for burden of disease estimation
- Pathogens: COVID-19, rotavirus, norovirus
PUBLICATIONS
CO-DIRECTOR EAVE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Natalie Dean is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology. She completed her Master’s degree and PhD in biostatistics at Harvard University. She conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Florida in the Center for Statistics and Quantitative Infectious Diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Dean has received wide praise for her public engagement, which includes op-eds published in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Stat News on the topic of vaccination and vaccination studies.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator, NIH/NIAID R01 grant on vaccine study design for emerging pathogens
- Member, R&D Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics – clinical trials working group, World Health Organization, 2016-Present
- Member, HIV Resistance Network Monitoring and Surveillance Working Group, World Health Organization, 2018-Present
- Advisory Board, COVID Tracking Project, The Atlantic, 2020-2021
- Provost’s Excellence Award for Assistant Professors, University of Florida, 2020
- Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, University of Florida, 2017-2021
- Consultant, HIV Department, World Health Organization, 2014-2015
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Methods to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines targeting emerging infectious diseases
- Flexible and responsive clinical trial designs
- Integrating modeling into clinical trial planning
- Observational studies for vaccines
- Statistical properties of the test negative design
- Diseases: Chikungunya, COVID-19, dengue, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Zika
PUBLICATIONS
PROFESSOR, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Affiliate Faculty, Emory Vaccine Center
EAVE FACULTY, PROFESSOR, RUSTOM ANTIA, PHD
Dr. Rustom Anita is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor in the Department of Biology at Emory University as well as Affiliate Faculty with the Emory Vaccine Center. He completed his master’s degree in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay (1983) and his PhD in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Massachusetts (1990). He has been modeling the dynamics of immune responses and host-pathogen interactions since his post-doctoral fellowship at Imperial College in 1991. He approaches problems in immunology and epidemiology from an ecological and evolutionary viewpoint.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Professor, Department of Biology, Emory University 2007-present
AREAS OF INTERST
- A quantitative understanding of the dynamics of infections and immunity
- The generation and maintenance of immunological memory
- Development of vaccines to influenza and other respiratory pathogens
- Cross-scale modeling integrating within- and between host dynamics (i.e., immunological and epidemiological processes).
- The emergence of novel pathogens.
- Pathogens: influenza, malaria, HIV, COVID-19
PUBLICATIONS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Robert A. Bednarczyk is Associate Professor of the Hubert Department of Global Health and Department of Epidemiology at Rollins School of Public Health, and is a faculty member of the Emory Vaccine Center and the Winship Cancer Institute Cancer Prevention and Control Program. He attended graduate school at the University of Albany to study epidemiology, where he earned his master’s degree and PhD. He works across the spectrum of vaccine acceptance, hesitance and delivery implementation, both domestically and internationally. His work ranges from qualitative research to quantitative data analysis to intervention development and evaluation, all in service of improving vaccine acceptance.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Member, Emory Vaccine Center
- Member, Cancer Prevention and Control, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
- Member, National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, and former Lead of the Roundtable Best Practices Task Group
- Member, HPV Cancer Free GA, the Georgia Cancer Control Consortium HPV Working Group
- Co-Investigator, Ready Vax App Extension Project, part of the Emory PERRC Translation and Dissemination Initiative
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Strategies to address adolescent and adult vaccine hesitancy
- Designing qualitative research studies to increase vaccine acceptance
- Utilizing vaccines for cancer prevention
- Improving sexual health behaviors
- Pathogens: HPV, influenza, COVID-19
PUBLICATIONS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. David Benkeser is Associate Professor in the department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. He completed his MPH in Biostatistics from the University of Georgia (2010) and his PhD. in Biostatistics from the University of Washington (2015), before spending time as a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley (2015-17). His research lies at the intersection of machine learning and causal inference.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation, Division of Mathematical Statistics Program
- Co-Investigator, multiple NIH, CDC, and foundation funded grants
- Director, Data Science Initiatives, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health
- Associate Director, Emory Center for AIDS Research, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core
- Associate Director, Emory/Georgia Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center, Clinical and Population Science Core
- Emory Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Award in Collaborative Biostatistics, 2021
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Statistical methodology focusing on the theory and applications of machine learning in causal inference
- Collaborative research on preventive vaccines and HIV prevention
- Expertise in vaccine efficacy trials, clinical trial design and analysis, observational data analysis, competing risks, early childhood growth and nutritional epidemiology, cardiovascular epidemiology, pediatric medicine, and health economics
- Pathogens: COVID-19, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, dengue, and influenza
PUBLICATIONS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Director, ECRC
BACKGROUND
Dr. Allison Chamberlain directs the Emory Center for Public Health Preparedness and Research and the Emory COVID-19 Response Collaborative (ECRC). She also serves as Associate Professor for Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Chamberlain has a background in biodefense policy, public health preparedness and vaccine promotion. She received her M.S. from Georgetown University in Biomedical Science Policy & Advocacy (2007), and her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Emory University (2015).
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Director, Emory Center for Public Health Preparedness and Research
- Director, Emory COVID-19 Response Collaborative (ECRC)
- Consultant, Fulton County Board of Health (FCBOH) (2017 – present)
- Academic Advisor, Emory Student Outbreak Response Team (SORT) (2015 – present)
- Co-Director, Graduate Studies, Epidemiology, PhD program, Laney Graduate School (2019 – 2020)
- Award, Vaccine and Edward Jenner Vaccine Society Young Investigator Program (2016)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Strategies for public health preparedness & practice, as well as vaccine promotion
- Improving patient and provider education regarding infectious disease threats
- Methods for implementation science and public health ethics
- Expertise in cluster randomized trial design
- Pathogens: Influenza, Pertussis, HIV, COVID-19, Legionella
PUBLICATIONS
Associate PROFESSOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, School OF MEDICINE , MEDICAL DIRECTOR, HOPE CLINIC OF EMORY VACCINE CENTER
BACKGROUND
Dr. Edupuganti received her MD degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and her Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Emory University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine. She also received an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. In September 2006, she joined the faculty of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University and as a member of the Hope Clinic where vaccine clinical trials are conducted.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Hope Clinic Clinical Research Site (CRS) Leader for the DAIDS funded Emory CDC Clinical Trials Unit
- Site leader for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) studies conducted at the Hope clinic
- Medical Director, Hope Clinic of Emory Vaccine Center
- Clinical Core leader for translational immunology projects funded by CCHI of NIAID
- Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases – involved in patient care, administrative activities and conferences of the Division of Infectious Diseases
- Site principal investigator/co-investigator and protocol chair/co-chair for clinical trials of HIV vaccines, influenza vaccines including H1N1 and avian influenza vaccines, yellow fever vaccine, smallpox vaccine and others
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Translational research in vaccines and vaccine development
- HIV vaccine development
- Mosquito-borne diseases
- Pathogens: HIV, influenza, yellow fever, smallpox, flaviviruses
PROJECT DIRECTOR, EAVE, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health,
BACKGROUND
Brian Graaf, MPA is a project director in the School of Epidemiology at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, for the Lopman Research Lab. He completed his B.S. degree in Criminal Justice at California State University, Sacramento (2008) and his Master of Public Administration at University of Southern California (2011). Brian has over 10 years of public health project management and operational experience.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Project Director, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Lopman Research Projects (2018 – Present)
- Program Administrator, Rollins School of Public Health, Maternal and Child Health Certificate Program (2018 – 2020)
- Senior Program Officer, CDC Foundation (2014 – 2018) and Program Coordinator (2012 – 2014)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Managing dynamic portfolios of public health projects
- Operations management and optimizing business processes
- Drafting, negotiating and monitoring contractual agreements
- Managing grant applications and proposal submissions
- Pathogens: COVID-19, rotavirus, norovirus and viral hepatitis
PROFESSOR, Vice Chair, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Jodie Guest is professor and vice chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Rollins School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment in the School of Medicine at Emory University. Previously, she was the Director of HIV Research at the Atlanta VA Medical Center where she co-founded the HIV Atlanta VA Cohort Study (HAVACS) and led more than 40 HIV-related studies. She is also faculty for the CDC’s Epidemiology Intelligence Service program and the Associate Program Director for the Emory PA Program. At the start of the pandemic, she developed the Emory COVID-10 Outbreak Response Team to bring testing, vaccinations and information to underserved communities and hosts Emory’s COVID-19 scientific video communications. She received her MPH as well as her PhD in Epidemiology from Emory University.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Vice Chair, Department of Epidemiology
- Co-director, Office of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice, Woodruff Health Sciences Center
- Faculty Councilor, Emory Board of Trustees, Woodruff Health Sciences Committee
- Chair, 2019 National LGBTQ Health Conference (2019) and Co-Chair (2021, 2022)
- Member, Atlanta Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board
- Steering Committee, Antiretroviral Cohort Collaboration
- Director, Emory Farmworker Project
- Director, Emory’s COVID-19 Outbreak Response Team
- Faculty Advisor and Focus Area Lead, Emory COVID-19 Response Collaborative (ECRC)
- Emory’s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award (2021)
- Rollins Student Government Association Professor of the Year (2020)
- Department of Epidemiology’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2020)
- School of Medicine’s Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award (2019)
- Director, HIV Research, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (1998 – 2015)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Leading clinical and community-based research
- Evaluating health disparities and social determinants of health
- Expertise in public health preparedness, response and scientific communication
- Methods for utilizing epidemiological study formats in clinical medicine
- Strategies for infectious disease prevention and vaccine uptake
- Pathogens: HIV, COVID-19
PUBLICATIONS
PROFESSOR, Biostatistics, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Michael Haber has served as faculty in the Emory Biostatistics Department within the Rollins School of Public Health since 1983. He completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Statistics at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Over the past 30 years, his research has focused on estimating parameters related to the direct, indirect, and overall effects of vaccines and vaccination programs. He has published numerous papers on evaluation of vaccine efficacy/effectiveness and on related study designs. Dr. Haber is also interested in agent-based simulation models for evaluation of statistical methods for infectious diseases data.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator on four NIH R01 grants and numerous other grants and contracts with the CDC, FDA, NIAID, Pfizer, Glaxo-Smith-Kline, and Emory University
- Published over 130 peer-reviewed papers and some book chapters
- Directed numerous PhD dissertations and Master theses
- Chair and member, numerous committees, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and Rollins School of Public Health.
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Developing stochastic models and statistical methods related to analysis of infectious disease data with focus on data from vaccine studies.
- Applying statistical methods to data from observational studies as well as clinical trials
- Teaching probability theory, statistical inference, analysis of categorical data and infectious disease data
- Pathogens: Influenza, Pneumococcal, rotavirus
PUBLICATIONS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Samuel Jenness is Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. He earned his MPH in Health Law and Bioethics from Boston University and his Ph.D. in Epidemiology at the University of Washington. Dr. Jenness completed his post doc work at the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington. He works on epidemiological problems at the intersection of infectious diseases and network science, including measurement and quantification of dynamic social and genomic networks for HIV/STIs and tuberculosis.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator, EpiModel Research Lab, Funded by the NIH, and the CDC
- Co-Investigator on multiple NIH, CDC and Gates Foundation funded grants
- Faculty Director, Infectious Disease Epidemiology Certificate Program, Emory Rollins School of Public Health
- Member, Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution Program, Emory University
- Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University (2016 – 2021)
- Member, MPH/MSPH Admission Committee, Emory University (2016 – 2021)
- Member, PhD Program Committee, Emory University (2017 – present)
- Grant Reviewer, Emory Center for AIDS Research (2017 – present)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Evaluating the drivers of infectious diseases and optimal designs for prevention and control
- Developing methods and software tools for modeling infectious diseases
- Measurements and quantifications of dynamic social and genomic networks for HIV/STI’s and tuberculosis
- Utilizing modeling to stimulate the co-circulation of multiple pathogens within the same host
- Pathogens: HIV, gonorrhea, TB, SARS-COV-2
PUBLICATIONS
PROFESSOR, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
BACKGROUND
Dr. Katia Koelle is Professor of Emory University, Department of Biology. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (2005). She completed her post doc fellowship with the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (2007). She worked at Duke University as Assistant Professor in the Biology Department and then Associate Professor before coming to Emory University in 2017.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Phi Beta Kappa Recognition for Excellent Teaching (2020)
- Faculty Member, Program in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution (PBEE), Emory University (2017 – present)
- Faculty Member, Program in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG), Emory University (2018 – present)
- Associate Professor, Biology Department, Emory University (2017 – present)
- Co-Director, Theory and Modeling of Living Systems Initiative, Emory University (2018 – present)
- Associate Professor, Biology Department, Duke University (2014 – 2017)
- Recipient of Duke University’s Thomas Langford Lectureship Award (2015)
- Recipient of Popular Science’s Brilliant 10 award (2014)
- Recipient of the PNAS Cozzarelli Prize (2008)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Understanding the interplay between the evolution and epidemiological spread of viral infectious diseases
- Using modeling and statistical analyses of viral sequence data to understand constraints on viral adaptation
- Evaluating interindividual variation in within-host viral dynamics and evolution
- Measuring the impact of control measures of the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of viral infectious diseases
- Identifying how vector reduction, immunization, and novel therapeutic control efforts impact disease burden
- Pathogens: influenza, SARS-CoV-2, norovirus
PUBLICATIONS
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, BIOSTATISTICS, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Max Lau is Assistant Professor at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health in the Biostatistics Department and is jointly appointed with the Epidemiology Department. He earned his MPhil in Public Health and statistical modeling of infectious diseases at the University of Hongkong (2011). He obtained his Ph.D. in statistical modeling of infectious diseases at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2015). He completed his post doc work at Princeton University (2018) and began his career at Emory University in 2019. He has developed new Bayesian methods and modelling techniques for disease data and data integration and designs and teaches graduate level machine learning and modeling classes.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator, Emory COVID-19 Response Collaborative (2020), project analyzing transmission dynamics of COVID-19 outbreaks in Georgia
- Co-Principal Investigator, multiple NIH and Emory funded grants
- Journal Reviewer, Science Advances, Nature, Nature Communications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Scientific Reports, PLOS Computational Biology
- Grant Reviewer, Wellcome Trust Grant, Wellcome Sir Henry, Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Developing robust statistical and computational approaches for studying infectious disease dynamics at different scales
- Disease ecology
- Agent-based modelling
- Pathogens: measles, influenza, Ebola, and COVID-19
PUBLICATIONS
Associate Professor, Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
Background
Juan Leon’s primary appointment is in the Hubert Department of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University. He was born in Peru, grew up in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, and Bolivia before continuing his training in the US. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College. He received both his PhD in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis and Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Northwestern University. He moved to Emory University in 2004. Dr. Leon’s area of research focuses on developing effective interventions to parasitic and enteric viral pathogens, especially those involved in foodborne and waterborne disease, by understanding the immune response of vulnerable individuals and the epidemiology of vulnerable populations to these pathogens. He is interested in four main areas: Neglected tropical diseases, Fresh Produce Safety, Norovirus and Enteric Vaccines.
Professional Highlights
- Reviewer for multiple immunology, parasitology, virology, food protection, and epidemiology journals
- Received RSPH, Emory, and national awards for his teaching and mentoring
- Member of the Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
Areas of Interest
- Clinical Trials
- Community Based Research
- Disease Pathogenesis
- Environmental Health
- Global Health
- Infectious Disease
- Maternal and Child Health
- Public Health Practice
- Rural Health
- Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
- Vaccines
- Diseases: Norovirus, Chagas
Publications
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, School OF MEDICINE, Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Rebolledo was born and raised in Mexico City where she received her MD from the Universidad La Salle in Mexico. She completed residency in Internal Medicine, fellowships in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at Emory University, as well as Master of Science in Clinical Research.Dr. Rebolledo is an associate professor with dual appointments in the School of Medicine (Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease) and the School of Public Health (Department of Global Health). Her research interests center around vaccine-preventable diseases and ensuring the availability of infectious disease diagnostics for resource-limited populations. Dr. Rebolledo is invested in optimizing representation of Latinx populations in vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials and overcoming the systemic barriers to healthcare access for these communities
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Co-director, Global Health Distinctions Program, J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program, Emory University School of Medicine
- Investigator, Emory Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) at the Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center; Emory University School of Medicine
- Associate Professor of Global Health, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine
- Co-Chair, Latinx Faculty Affinity Group, Emory University School of Medicine
- Co-Chair, Malaria and Tropical Diseases Expert Working Group, Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium
- Mentor, Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), The Task Force for Global Health
- Member, IDSA Public Health Committee
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials for infectious diseases
- Immunology of vaccine responses in pathogens of public health importance across the globe
- Inclusion of underrepresented populations in clinical trials
- Achieving appropriate use of microbiologic tests (i.e., diagnostic stewardship) through intervention-based medical education
PUBLICATIONS
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health,
BACKGROUND
Dr. Rogawski McQuade is Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health. Her training is in infectious disease epidemiology and her research interests are in pediatric enteric disease in low-resource settings. Specifically, she focuses on the complex interactions between early childhood diarrhea, enteric infections, environmental enteropathy, antibiotic use, and their effects on child health and development. Dr. McQuade completed her MSPH in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2012), Ph.D. in Epidemiology at Chapel Hill (2015) and her post doc work (2016) at the University of Virginia.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator, K01, R01, NIAID grants on enteric disease in early childhood
- Co-investigator for several multisite birth cohort, case-control, and randomized trial studies of enteric disease that used quantitative molecular diagnostics for enteric pathogens using the TaqMan Array Card platform
- Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia (2016 – 2021)
- Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases & International Health, University of Virginia (2016 – 2021)
- Outstanding Investigator, Young Investigator Award at the UVA NIH K and THRIV awardee Symposium (2018)
- WHIL Innovations Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Infectious Diseases & International Health, University of Virginia (2015 – 2016)
- Research Fellow, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi (2012 – 2013)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Identifying complex interactions between early childhood diarrhea, enteric infections, environmental enteropathy, antibiotic use, and their effects on child health and development
- Applies novel causal inference-based methods to generate epidemiologic evidence relevant to public health interventions and policy
- Understanding the impact of vaccines and other interventions for enteric diseases
- Collaborating with Investigators around the world with fieldwork in India, South Africa, and Tanzania
- Answering questions related to interventions that translate to public health programs
- Pathogens: enteric infections, COVID-19
PUBLICATIONS
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Kristin Nelson is Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Emory Rollins School of Public Health. She is an infectious disease epidemiologist with a focus on respiratory infections, in particular tuberculosis (TB) transmission and epidemiology. She completed her MPH degree in Global Epidemiology at Emory University (2014) and then her Ph.D. at Emory in Epidemiology (2018), where she also completed her post-doc work (2020). She is particularly interested in policy-relevant research that can inform the effective introduction of new TB vaccines.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Member, Tuberculosis Modeling and Analysis Consortium (TBMAC), (2020 – present)
- Member, Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) Network, (2019 – present)
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Emory University (2018 – 2019)
- US Junior Oberwolfach Fellow, National Science Foundation (2018)
- Emory Epidemiology Anoopa Sharma Excellence in Epidemiologic Research Award (2018)
- Rollins School of Public Health Livingston Fellow (2018
- Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) Young Investigator Award, (2017)
- Burroughs Welcome Molecules to Mankind Fellowship Recipient (2016 – 2017)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Epidemiology and prevention of respiratory infections
- Characterizing the drug-resistant TB epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Identifying key unknowns about the context-specific drivers of TB transmission, providing data to inform targeted prevention strategies
- Implementing mathematical modeling for vaccine development and implementation
- Integrating dynamic modeling, causal inference methods, and pathogen genomics to characterize patterns of disease transmission
- Reducing the global burden of respiratory infections in low- and middle-income countries
- Pathogens: Tuberculosis (TB), COVID-19, norovirus
PUBLICATIONS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Lavanya Vasudevan is an Associate Professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory University. Dr. Vasudevan’s research aims to develop and implement interventions for promoting vaccination equity and decision-making globally, with a specific focus on populations experiencing health disparities. A key theme in her research is the development and evaluation of multi-level strategies that are linked to routine vaccination services for proactively and systematically reducing barriers to vaccination. Dr. Vasudevan is also engaged in collaborative research to understand and mitigate the impact of misinformation on vaccination decision-making. Dr. Vasudevan completed her doctoral training in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University and received a master’s degree in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Vasudevan is Certified in Public Health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal Investigator for CDC U01 study titled ADEPT – An adaptive prenatal intervention to increase childhood vaccinations.
- Principal Investigator for NIH R01 study titled Chanjo Kwa Wakati: Integrated community-based digital vaccination system to promote timely vaccinations.
- Co-Principal Investigator for NSF III: Medium study titled Ask the Experts: Generating Question-Answer Pairs for Addressing Information Deficits about Vaccines.
- Co-investigator for CDC U01 study titled A Tailored School-Based Intervention to Increase Vaccine Uptake Among Adolescents in the Rural South.
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Coverage and timeliness of childhood vaccinations
- Contextually relevant interventions to promote vaccination equity and decision-making
- Implementation strategies for integration of interventions into routine vaccination and community settings
- Intervention tailoring and adaptation to support diverse vaccination decision-making styles
- Rural-urban disparities in vaccinations
- Digital health interventions for vaccination promotion
- Vaccine misinformation
- Childhood vaccinations, HPV, Flu and COVID-19 vaccines
PUBLICATIONS
Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences
BACKGROUND
Dr. Ymir Vigfusson is Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Emory University. Dr. Vigfusson obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University. Dr. Vigfusson’s academic research is focused on data science and distributed systems, and he is particularly interested in socially motivated real-world problems that embody deep trade-offs.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
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- Co-Investigator, MP3 Seed Grant Initiative, human contact, and mobility data for models of infectious disease transmission (2020 – 2021)
- Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator, NSF CAREER Award (2016 – 2020), multiple CDC Awards (2016 – present), and the Icelandic Research Council Research Grant (2015 – 2018).
- Co-founder of multiple companies (Adversary, acquired in 2020, and Syndis, acquired in 2021).
- Co-founder of the Emory SimBioSys Lab (2014 –present).
- Post-doctoral Scientist, IBM Research (2009 – 2011).
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Making large-scale distributed systems smarter and more efficient, including through better memory management and improved algorithms
- Finding practical ways to defend information security of legacy systems from attackers, educating the public about hacking
- Advancing computational epidemiology, including:
- Mathematical disambiguation of complex infections
- Analyzing mobility data (such as cell phone metadata) to inform epidemic models
- Methods of using technology to improve disease outbreak surveillance
- Pathogens: malaria (P. falciparum), influenza, COVID-19, foodborne illnesses
PUBLICATIONS
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Background
Jessica Wells (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She received a PhD from Emory University in 2012, along with a Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in 2015 at Emory University. She earned a BSN from Howard University in 2006. Dr. Wells’ overarching focus is cancer control and prevention for people living with HIV and for vulnerable and historically excluded populations. She is currently the PI for a NIH-funded R01 that aims to implement an evidence-based, multi-level intervention to promote HPV vaccination in HIV community clinics. Dr. Wells is a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute, co-chair of the HIV and malignancies working group at Emory University CFAR, and member of the Advocacy and Campaign committee at the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS). She also serves on the Board of Directors for Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH).
Professional Highlights
Recipient, NIH Loan Repayment Program
Emory CFAR Barbara Vicks Impact in HIV Research Award
Southern Nursing Research Society’s Research in Minority Health Award
Fellow, American Academy of Nursing
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing’s Faculty Excellence Award
Fellow, Woodruff Leadership Academy 2023
Areas of Interest
Cancer
HPV-related cancers
HIV/Aids
Women’s Health
Health Disparities
Cancer Prevention
Diseases: HIV
Publications
PROFESSOR, Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
BACKGROUND
Dr. Cynthia Whitney is Professor in the Global Health Department of the Rollins School of Public Health. She is also the Executive Director and Principal Investigator of CHAMPS. In this leadership role, she oversees Program Office functionalities and works to ensure success of the network’s strategic objectives. Whitney joined CHAMPS as a Senior Advisor in 2018 after 25 years at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she worked as an epidemiologist, team lead, and branch chief, focused on respiratory infections, surveillance, outbreak response, and vaccine policy development and evaluation. She completed her medical degree at the University of Minnesota (1990), as well as her master’s in public health at Harvard University (1996). She completed medical residencies in Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota’s program and in Preventive Medicine through CDC.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Authored more than 250 published scientific articles on topics such as pneumococcal disease epidemiology, drug resistance, respiratory disease, neonatal sepsis and disease outbreaks
- Senior Advisor to CHAMPS and an investigator at the Emory Hope Clinic
- Frequent consultant to the World Health Organization and other bilateral and multilateral groups
- Leader for CDC-wide emergency response task forces for SARS, Ebola in West Africa, and pandemic influenza
- Globally recognized as a public health leader and researcher with deep experience in infectious disease research and surveillance
- Serves on multiple advisory boards and study committees and is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Identifying Maternal and child health disparities
- Developing vaccine policy
- Studying barriers to vaccine uptake
- Prioritizing health care strategies to reduce childhood mortality
- Pathogens: SARS, Ebola, Influenza, Pneumonia
PUBLICATIONS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, School OF MEDICINE
BACKGROUND
Dr. Wiley received her MD from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed both her internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at Emory. She is a co-investigator within the NIH-funded Emory Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit and has a special interest in addressing health inequities in COVID (and other viral infections) via promotion of equitable therapeutics and access to vaccination. Dr. Wiley is a member of the Emory Department of Medicine’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council and is passionate about mentorship (particularly of those who are underrepresented in medicine).
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine
- Jonas A. Shulman Teacher of the Year Award (Infectious Diseases)
- MPI of NIH-Funded RECOVER (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery) Long COVID Study (Atlanta Site)
- 2022 Golden Apple Teaching Award (Emory University Hospital Midtown subspecialty attending)
- 2022 and 2023 Atlanta Top Docs (Infectious Diseases; Elected by Atlanta Physicians)
- 2023 President-elect of the American Federation for Medical Research
AREAS OF INTEREST
- COVID-19 – Health Inequities in COVID-19 Therapeutics, Vaccination, and Long COVID
- Mentorship of Racial and Ethnic Minority Trainees
- Promoting Vaccine Uptake in Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities
- Community Engagement
- Pathogens: Covid-19
PUBLICATIONS
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
BACKGROUND:
Veronika Zarnitsyna is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University School of Medicine. She completed her master’s degree in Physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and her PhD in biophysics at the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics in Puschino, Russia. Applying single-molecule techniques to T cells and neutrophils during her postdoc at Georgia Tech, she became fascinated by their intricate responses, and this experience changed her professional trajectory. She completed an intensive summer course, Physiology, in the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole followed by her postdoc in the immunology field at Emory University. Since she joined the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in 2015, she is doing integrative work with data from human studies and mouse immunity experiments, focusing on modeling humoral and cellular adaptive immunity to viral infections.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, 2015-present
- MPI, NIH U01 “Multiscale modeling of influenza vaccination strategies for optimal T cell immunity”
- Associate Member, The American Association of Immunologists (AAI), 2019 – current
- Member of Multiscale Modeling and Viral Pandemics Group and Group Lead for subgroup Physiological Models: Innate and adaptive immune response, 2020 – current
- Sigma Xi Best Paper Awards, Georgia Tech Chapter, 2008 (PNAS 2007 paper) & 2011 (Nature 2010 paper)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Estimation of vaccine effectiveness in the case of fast intraseasonal waning; simulation of epidemics (ODE and agent-based modeling)
- Predictive models of immune response to viral infections; role of preexisting immunity in shaping immune response
- T cell cross-reactivity and functional T cell repertoire
- Analysis of longitudinal data for immune response to infection (mixed-effects models), maintenance and waning of immunity
- Pathogens that exhibit strain variation (e.g., influenza, SARS-CoV-2
PUBLICATIONS
PROJECT MANAGER, EAVE, Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health,
BACKGROUND
April Zion, MPH, is an epidemiologist in the Epidemiology Department at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Lopman Research Projects. She completed her B.A. degree in Sociology at Georgia State University (2004) and her M.A. Degree in Gerontology at Georgia State University (2007). More recently, she completed her MPH degree in Prevention Science, at Emory University (2020). April is a public health professional with extensive knowledge of research methodologies, health communication strategies, and research study design.
PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Research Project Coordinator IV, Emory Renal Division, Department of Medicine (2019 – 2022)
- Research Project Coordinator II, Emory Hope Clinic, Department of Medicine (2016 – 2019)
- Research Project Recruitment Coordinator, Atlanta VA, Foundation for Atlanta Veterans Education and Research (2015 – 2016)
- Adjunct Instructor, Georgia Perimeter College (2009 – 2012)
- Graduate Research Assistant Full Scholarship, Georgia State University (2007)
- Research Project Coordinator, Atlanta VA, Foundation for Atlanta Veterans Education and Research (2004 – 2008)
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Managing research projects to meet study timelines and deliverables
- Developing communication and marketing strategies for multiple research projects
- Communicating with stakeholders a
- Administering IRB submissions
- Developing standard operating procedures to ensure compliance with study protocols
- Contributing to writing grant proposals, consents, protocols and manuscripts
- Pathogens: COVID-19, HIV, Rotavirus, Norovirus