Our Research

Emerging Disease Surveillance

Novel disease emergence can happen anywhere at anytime, and often occurs in highly biodiverse areas where humans and animals intermix. Our years of experience working in difficult to reach areas of central Africa has positioned us uniquely to design and execute epidemiologic surveillance of emerging infectious threats, utilizing shoe leather epidemiology in concert with new modalities like settlement mapping. We have experience working on widespread emerging diseases like COVID-19 and Mpox, but also other neglected tropical diseases like trypanosomiasis and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.

Polio and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases

Since 2014, we’ve conducted large poliovirus serologic surveillance studies throughout central Africa. Our work on polio supports local vaccine policy, and in the wake of sustained circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks, has contributed crucial information regarding the polio vaccine landscape in the world’s hardest to reach areas. Beyond polio we’ve worked with the various Ministries of Health to support a national serologic survey to assess vaccination coverage. This key information has been included in policy and government briefings, such as the Congolese Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program and is available publicly.

Pharmacovigilance

Our work on pharmacovigilance aims to strengthen the global biologics safety net in the post-market environment. Our work focuses on prenatal vaccination and adverse birth outcomes across 10 hospitals in the Kinshasa area. Through this work we’ve been able to estimate maternal vaccination rates, characterize adverse events in the prenatal and postnatal periods, and provide insights for improvement of maternal vaccination programs, data capture and communication systems.

Ebola

In order to study Ebola and Marburg viruses, we have gathered thousands of samples from across the DRC from survivors, vaccine recipients, healthcare workers, and others affected by DRC’s numerous outbreaks. Our work uses survey and biologic data to understand how hemorrhagic fever risk, behavior, and serology are intertwined in populations either during an outbreak or at risk for one. Recent notable studies from our group have looked at Ebola vaccine immunogenicity, risk behaviors during outbreaks, and zoonotic exposures.

Mpox

We’ve conducted research on the prevalence and transmission risk of human Mpox in the DRC for over a decade. We’ve recently been awarded a 5-year grant to continue our work on this reemerging infectious disease which will identify transmission chains and build capacity for Mpox surveillance among local health bureaus.

In the US we are currently investigating Mpox vaccine effectiveness and efficacy among patients of sexual health clinics in Southern California. This study is supported by the CDC and California Department of Public Health.

COVID-19

Our COVID-19 research explores the humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines among frontline workers in Los Angeles, CA. In central Africa we conduct survey- and social media-based research on community exposures, knowledge, attitudes, and vaccine hesitancies to further inform local COVID-19 policies.

Capacity Building

While we work on critical epidemiologic research projects around the world, our secondary public health aim is to build capacity for public health investigation and control among national and local jurisdictions. In collaboration with the DRC’s Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, the Kinshasa School of Public Health, and the Expanded Program on Immunization, we’ve worked to provide training and hands-on opportunities in public health research for Congolese scientists.

One Health

Novel disease emergence can happen anywhere at anytime and often occurs in highly biodiverse areas where humans and animals intermix. Since 2023, we have been conducting a national cross-sectional serosurveillance study of domesticated livestock and those humans in close contact with them across DRC. This study has also included: Tick and tick blood-meal collection (CCHFV vectors), independent outbreak-specific Disease X investigations, and the development of standardized context-specific veterinary disease surveillance tools.

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

Beyond the Congo Basin, spillover of Nipah and CCHFV are of upmost concern. We partner with the University of Warmadewa in Balai, Indonesia to study active wet markets for Henipaviruses and CCHF in reservoir species of birds and bats. We perform environmental sampling in farms, venipuncture and oral swab of farm animals, capture and sampling of wild animal (bats, rodents, birds), tick collection from all sampled animals, and behavioral interviews of farmers, hunters, and wet market vendors.

Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

We’ve partnered with dairy produces in California and the Midwest to assess the risk of avian influenzas in the dairy industry and surrounding rural communities

We’re working with the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board to assess avian influenza exposures among rural and indigenous communities