Broadly, my group investigates the coevolution of pathogens and hosts’ adaptive immunity. We use computational and mathematical tools to test hypotheses and to advance theory. Our earlier work focused on the evolutionary consequences of immune-mediated competition between different pathogen strains, including pneumococcus, human papillomavirus, and especially influenza. More recently, our focus has expanded to include the related dynamics of the host immune response. We are investigating the evolution of antibody repertoires within hosts over time, in particular to identify the roles of infection history, chance, vaccination, and host genetics in generating the diversity of B cell responses. This research involves linking epidemiological and immunological observations of B cells to the antigenic and genetic evolution of influenza viruses. Consequently, it makes extensive use of longitudinal dynamical models of individuals and birth cohorts as well as techniques from molecular evolution to investigate coevolution across scales.
Understanding the dynamics of vaccination is another area of focus. We have investigated the actual and expected impacts of vaccines against pneumococcus, human papillomavirus, and influenza. With influenza, we have been investigating the impact of the vaccine on viral transmission and local evolution and how immune history might reduce the vaccine’s effectiveness and alter selective pressures. Improving vaccination strategies given hosts’ diverse immune histories and the potential for rapid evolution by the pathogen is a long-term aim of our work. Ultimately, we want to explain coevolution sufficiently well to enable prediction, or at least to determine when prediction is not feasible.
Harvard School of Public Health
Postdoctoral - Infectious disease dynamics
2013
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
PhD - Ecology & Evolution
2009
Princeton University
AB - Ecology & Evolution
2002
Investigation of impact of childhood immune imprinting on birth year-specific risk of clinical infection during influenza A virus epidemics in Hong Kong.
Investigation of impact of childhood immune imprinting on birth year-specific risk of clinical infection during influenza A virus epidemics in Hong Kong. J Infect Dis. 2023 Jan 13.
PMID: 36637115
Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission with a novel outpatient sentinel surveillance system in Chicago, USA.
Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission with a novel outpatient sentinel surveillance system in Chicago, USA. Nat Commun. 2022 09 22; 13(1):5547.
PMID: 36138039
COVID-19 and children.
COVID-19 and children. Science. 2022 09 09; 377(6611):1144-1149.
PMID: 36074833
PARIS and SPARTA: Finding the Achilles' Heel of SARS-CoV-2.
PARIS and SPARTA: Finding the Achilles' Heel of SARS-CoV-2. mSphere. 2022 06 29; 7(3):e0017922.
PMID: 35586986
SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Pregnant People at Labor and Delivery and Changes in Infection Rates in the General Population: Lessons Learned From Illinois.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Pregnant People at Labor and Delivery and Changes in Infection Rates in the General Population: Lessons Learned From Illinois. Public Health Rep. 2022 Jul-Aug; 137(4):672-678.
PMID: 35510756
Improvements in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Testing Cascade in the United States: Data From Serial Cross-sectional Assessments.
Improvements in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Testing Cascade in the United States: Data From Serial Cross-sectional Assessments. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 05 03; 74(9):1534-1542.
PMID: 34374758
Incorporating temporal distribution of population-level viral load enables real-time estimation of COVID-19 transmission.
Incorporating temporal distribution of population-level viral load enables real-time estimation of COVID-19 transmission. Nat Commun. 2022 03 03; 13(1):1155.
PMID: 35241662
Modeling comparative cost-effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose fractionation in India.
Modeling comparative cost-effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose fractionation in India. Nat Med. 2022 05; 28(5):934-938.
PMID: 35210596
The Potential Beneficial Effects of Vaccination on Antigenically Evolving Pathogens.
The Potential Beneficial Effects of Vaccination on Antigenically Evolving Pathogens. Am Nat. 2022 02; 199(2):223-237.
PMID: 35077280
Of variants and vaccines.
Of variants and vaccines. Cell. 2021 12 22; 184(26):6222-6223.
PMID: 34942096
Neubauer Faculty Development Fellowship
University of Chicago
2016
James S. McDonnell Foundation Complex Systems Scholar Award
University of Chicago
2014
NIH New Innovator Award
University of Chicago
2014
NIH Kirchstein National Research Service Award
Harvard School of Public Health
2011
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
University of Michigan
2005
Sigma Xi Society
Princeton University
2002
Phi Beta Kappa
Princeton University
2002
Senior Book Prize, Ecology & Evolution
Princeton University
2002