Predicting Epidemics in Space & Time
Welcome to the PEST Group and my CV in MAP form!
EDUCATION
I am East Coast educated for my B.S., M.P.H. and my Ph.D., but the employment history tells a slightly different story.
I did my undergraduate work in psychology, earning a BS from Virginia Tech . During that time I worked in a research lab working to understand affect disorders. A big proponent of time off between degrees, I took a few years off before heading to George Washington University for an M.P.H. in International Health Promotion. Time off again, before heading back to school and getting a Ph.D. in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases from Yale University . My Dissertation was in the lab of Professor Durland Fish investigating the spatial spread of West Nile virus.
EMPLOYMENT
Georgetown U, WDC: Research Assistant
After my BS, I moved back home to Northern Virginia and started working in a neuroscience lab at Georgetown University . We were investigating dyslexia using functional neuroimaging.
Yale University, CT: Grad Student
While I was getting my PhD at Yale in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, I traveled around CT, including here in Mystic. My work was describing the spatial spread of WNV as it moved across the Eastern seaboard.
Bangkok, Thailand: Grad Student
Through a fellowship from the Yale Council on Southeast Studies, I went to collect mosquitoes in Thailand at Mahidol University .
Oxford U, UK: Post Doc
After my PhD, I went to Oxford University in the Department of Zoology. My work there was using remotely Sensed MODIS imagery to map the incursion of BTV.
CDC- Fort Collins, CO: Fellow
From Oxford, I joined the Bacterial Diseases Branch of the CDC . This allowed me to work on new diseases like tularemia and plague.
UArizona, Tucson: Post Doc
I joined the Department of Geography , working with Dr Comrie on Valley Fever.
UArizona, MEZCOPH: Faculty
I moved from a post-doc in geography over to an Assistant, and now Associate professor position in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health .
Dominica: Research
In grad school, years later as a faculty, I had the opportunity to collect mosquitoes in Dominica.
Lancaster U, UK: Visiting Scholar
I spent a few weeks as a visiting scholar at Lancaster University working with Dr Luigi Sedda, an expert in spatial analyses.
FIOCruz, Brazil: Visiting Scholar
In 2019, I visited FIO Cruz in Rio de Janeiro on a Fulbright. Working with Dr Paula Luz, we co-taught a climate change and health course and investigated the differential presentation of Culex and Aedes borne diseases.
Sabbatical, Heidelberg University
I spent my first sabbatical with the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health ( HIGH ) in 2023. My goal was to learn more about integrating climate change into health curricula.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Infectious Causes of Stomach Cancer
While we traditionally teach epidemiology as "chronic" or "infectious", yet increasingly we're seeing the line between these blurred. Gastric cancer incidence is about 4 times as high among Navajo compared with non-Hispanic white in neighboring Arizona. Certain types of gastric cancer are associated with chronic Helicobacter pylori infection. The Navajo Health Stomach Project worked to understand the increased risk. We are actively working on expanding this project to Southern Arizona.
EEE
Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a vector-borne zoonotic disease with low incidence, but high fatality. Nearly 90% of equids and 30% of human cases result in death. Evidence suggests taht EEE is increasing both in cases and is expanding northward. We are trying to quantify that northward shift.
Pima County Cooling Station
Pima County Cooling Centers-2020
In 2020, we mapped the locations of cooling centers across Pima County. Getting this informaiton available was critical as many of the libraries which also serve this purpose in Tucson were closed or restricted access because of COVID.
NOTE: For the most recent maps, check out Pima County's Heat Relief Network .