Guiding the Response
Policymakers and decision makers face numerous questions when strategizing how best to deploy vaccines and implement effective programs. We use dynamic models to address contemporary vaccine policy and program design questions. Working with our networks locally (Georgia Department of Public Health), nationally (CDC) and globally (WHO (World Health Organization), we explain and respond to the disparities in burden by race/ethnicity in the US and model campaigns targeted based on ideological, racial, and geographical heterogeneities or relative importance in the transmission network. Our projects focus on studying vaccine policies using mathematical models and working on the ground to improve policy and program implementation.
Keywords:
Implementation research, Health inequities, Mathematical modeling, Vaccine impact, Vaccine policy
Core faculty:
David Benkeser, Natalie Dean, Ben Lopman, Kristin Nelson, Walter Orenstein
SAMPLE PROJECTS
This project uses a combination of data streams and innovative analytical methods at the viral, human-host and human-population levels to develop a comprehensive mathematical modeling framework to guide norovirus vaccine design and implementation.
Funder:
NIH/NIGMS
Affiliated Faculty:
Ben Lopman PhD, Katia Koelle PhD
Collaborators:
Emory University
Selected Publications:
- Baker JM, Hasso-Agopsowicz M, Pitzer VE, Platts-Mills JA, Peralta-Santos A, Troja C, Archer H, Guo B, Sheahan W, Lingappa J, Jit M, Lopman BA. Association of enteropathogen detection with diarrhoea by age and high versus low child mortality settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 2021 Oct;9(10):e1402-e1410.
The goal of this project is to identify whether rotavirus vaccine is a tool for reducing antibiotic prescribing and antibiotic resistance. These findings can provide evidence for national and international policy makers for vaccine decision-making and AMR control strategies.
Funder:
Wellcome Trust Foundation
Affiliated Faculty:
Ben Lopman PhD, David Benkeser PhD, Evan Anderson MD
Selected Publications:
- Cates JE, Amin AB, Tate JE, Lopman B, Parashar U. Do Rotavirus Strains Affect Vaccine Effectiveness? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2021 Dec 1;40(12):1135-1143.
- Baker JM, Dahl RM, Cubilo J, Parashar UD, Lopman BA. Effects of the rotavirus vaccine program across age groups in the United States: analysis of national claims data, 2001-2016. BMC Infect Dis. 2019 Feb 22;19(1):186.
This project uses data collected from the 8-site prospective birth cohort study, MAL-ED to estimate the potential impact of enteric vaccines on reducing antibiotic use and exposure of bacterial pathogens to antibiotics. This work expands the value proposition for enteric vaccines currently in development.
Funder:
Wellcome Trust Foundation
Affiliated Faculty:
Liz McQuade, PhD
Collaborators:
James Platts-Mills (University of Virginia); Joe Lewnard (UC-Berkeley)
Selected Publications:
- Brennhofer SA, Platts-Mills JA, Lewnard JA, Liu J, Houpt ER, Rogawski McQuade ET. Antibiotic use attributable to specific aetiologies of diarrhoea in children under 2 years of age in low-resource settings: a secondary analysis of the MAL-ED birth cohort. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 1;12(4):e058740.
The goal of this project is to inform SARS-CoV-2 vaccine deployment and inform policies regarding mitigation and control strategies as a vaccine is rolled out. This is accomplished by determining the relative importance of direct and indirect transmission pathways, identifying viral immune escape, gauge its epidemiological consequences, and determine the population-level impact and optimal allocation of a future SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.
Funder:
NIH, WHO
Affiliated Faculty:
Ben Lopman, PhD and Katia Koelle, PhD, Juan Leon, PhD
Collaborators:
Alicia Kraay, Andreas Handel
Selected Publications:
- Gallagher ME, Sieben AJ, Nelson KN, Kraay ANM, Orenstein WA, Lopman B, Handel A, Koelle K. Indirect benefits are a crucial consideration when evaluating SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates. Nat Med. 2021 Jan;27(1):4-5.
- Kraay ANM, Nelson KN, Zhao CY, Demory D, Weitz JS, Lopman BA. Modeling serological testing to inform relaxation of social distancing for COVID-19 control. Nat Commun. 2021 Dec 3;12(1):7063.
- Modeling the use of SARS-COV-2 vaccination to safely relax non-pharmaceutical interventions. Preprint.