Global institutions are sounding the alarm for the critical need for research on infectious diseases. From measles outbreaks to cyclosporiasis, and COVID-19 to flu, infectious diseases continue to pose a significant threat to human health, causing illness, complications and, in some cases, death. According to the World Health Organization, infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases has stated the importance of “conducting research and science to inform prevention, detection, mitigation and response.”
In light of this need, Lehigh University’s College of Health (COH) has recently launched an Infectious Disease Research Cluster, called ID-NEST: The Infectious Disease studies in Natural, Engineered and Social sysTems Cluster, comprised of distinguished faculty members across disciplines working together towards a common goal of improving human health. The cluster is positioned to serve as a collaborative research hub at the intersection of infectious diseases, modeling, surveillance and data science. Faculty in this cluster will translate research into practice through meaningful community engagement, working with domestic and global communities to develop, implement and evaluate interventions that address real-world infectious disease challenges. In the future, the COH plans to establish an infectious disease institute on campus, further increasing national visibility.
The current team includes Thomas McAndrew, associate professor, department of biostatistics and health data science; Gabrielle String, assistant professor with joint appointments in the departments of population health in the COH, as well as in environmental engineering in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science; Gideon Gogovi, assistant professor in the department of biostatistics and health data science; and Wayne Lee, assistant professor, department of biostatistics and health data science.
Together, these faculty members combine public health expertise in different areas that advance infectious disease research: computational epidemiology and forecasting of infectious diseases; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in low-resource settings; the use of computer models that connect very small-scale biology to very large-scale outcomes; and the application of mathematical modeling and statistical principles to address interdisciplinary health and social science challenges, respectively.
Supporting the Infectious Disease Research Cluster are two postdoctoral researchers: Hanna Brosky, who brings expertise in environmental engineering and microbiology, WASH and infectious disease surveillance; as well as Nazia Afrin, whose focus area is the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases, with interests in dynamical systems, computational modeling and statistical methods. The group’s research supports public health operations, uses advanced computational models to complement public health expertise, and is informed by the insights of interdisciplinary experts in the field.
Long-term collaborations among the researchers support the strength of this cluster. McAndrew and String have co-authored multiple manuscripts, including a recent publication in the American Journal of Public Health entitled “Strength in Synthesis: Human Expertise and Computational Modeling as Complementary Public Health Investments.” They have also submitted a proposal to forecast West African cholera outbreaks.
String and Gogovi have co-authored four manuscripts on norovirus transmission dynamics, one of which was published in the International Journal of Differential Equations, and a National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal on legionella exposures, while McAndrew and Gogovi have submitted an NSF proposal to use computational modeling to inform public health decision-making around the West Nile virus. Further, Lee and McAndrew have an upcoming publication titled Temporal Inequalities in the Global COVID-19 Roll Out that explores whether a greater supply of the COVID-19 vaccine resulted in higher vaccination uptake.
“Our aim is to make the College of Health the home for infectious diseases research focused on jointly modeling the many interconnected phenomena that lead to outbreaks and sustained disease,” said McAndrew. “Future faculty will further shape this collaborative research agenda, with a core identity of connecting our research to serve others”.
The COH plans to build out the research cluster and complement existing faculty strengths with new faculty hires in the following areas: the detection of novel, emerging pathogens; quantifying disease burdens; and understanding how behavior and acceptability of interventions shape policy. For more information, please email incoh@lehigh.edu.
