Surveillance Epidemiologist
Pennsylvania Department of Health
I am the Lead Epidemiologist for Antimicrobial Resistance Response at the Pennsylvania Department of Health. My passion is finding ways to improve infectious disease surveillance including early detection of emerging pathogens, while also strengthening public health response through research and training. I am the Principal Investigator for the Pennsylvania-based National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System activities supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through NIH. I am also part of the FDA GenomeTrakr Laboratory Network research conducted at the Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Food Sciences.
Additionally, I am an Associate Editor for Emerging Infectious Diseases, responsible for book and other media reviews. Other contributions include co-editing two widely used textbooks published by Wiley-Blackwell in Oxford, United Kingdom: Infectious Disease Surveillance, 2nd edition, 2013, and Concepts and Methods in Infectious Disease Surveillance, 2015. I previously served as a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America National and Global Public Health Committee.
An alumnus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service Program, I received master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan. Besides the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the CDC, I have served and conducted research in several countries including South Africa, Israel, and Kenya. I am involved in an academic—public partnership to address the climate-change exacerbated threat of zoonotic pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in Meru, Kenya. I reside in both Meru and Pennsylvania.
I enjoy taking pictures of cloud formations like to travel, and delight in stories from diverse cultures. My hobbies include running or walking (even when it is snowing or raining), and playing mancala, an ancient game found in many cultures in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world. I also enjoy listening to and reading stories from diverse cultures.