I am an infectious disease epidemiologist and modeller with experience in study design, field data collection, and data analysis, including statistical and transmission modelling. I have been working at the School since completing my MSc in Epidemiology here in 2017. Prior to this, I worked as a webdeveloper in the Netherlands.
My research primarily focusses on pneumococcal vaccination strategies:
- Identifying pneumococcal vaccination strategies in humanitarian crises
I am the main researcher on the ESPICC and EEPICC studies exploring effective PCV vaccination strategies that could feasibly be used in humanitarian crises. We are currently evaluating the effectiveness of a PCV campaign in children <5y living in a camp for displaced people in Somaliland, with the vaccination strategy informed by mathematical modelling and primary data collection. This short animated video and this conference talk summarize the main modelled results. - Understanding the effect of reduced-dose routine vaccination schedules
I am the main modeller on a cluster randomized controlled trial in Vietnam evaluating the effect of reduced-dose routine PCV schedules (0p+1 and 1p+1) relative to currently recommended 3-dose schedules (3p+0 and 2p+1). We are currently trying to understand whether the potential increased health burden when switching to a 2-dose schedule may be justified by the substantial cost savings from removing one dose. Preliminary results were presented in this webinar. - Modelling other pneumococcal vaccination projects
My generalizable compartmental metapopulation PCV transmission model can easily be adapted to other settings, using any number of populations, vaccination schedules, and age groups. I work with other collaborators using the model to analyse different pneumococcal projects, including the PVS trial in the Gambia (led by the MRC unit the Gambia), fPCV trial in Niger (led by Epicentre), and other studies in Fiji, Somaliland, and China. - Social contact studies
In addition to my vaccination work, I have been involved in the design, implementation, and analysis of several social contact studies. These include the CoMix study measuring contact patterns using the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing UK social contact study, and contact studies in the Gambia, Niger, informal settlements in Kenya, and a camp for displaced people in Somaliland.
Affiliations
Centres
Teaching
I co-organize the Health Data Management module on the MSc Health Data Science, where I teach on topics such as database interface libraries, data pipelines, and automated report generation. I also teach about infectious disease modelling on several other modules.
Research
I am particularly interested in optimizing vaccination strategies for populations affected by humanitarian crises. In these settings, where data is often scarce and opportunities for primary data collection are limited, mathematical modelling can play a critical role. Coupled with minimal primary data collection, models could capture and understand unique local transmission dynamics, and better inform and refine vaccination strategies that meet the unique needs of these populations.