Uriel KitronGoodrich C. White Professor

• BSc, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
• PhD, Degree, University of California, Santa Barbara
• MPH, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

My research and teaching programs center around the eco-epidemiology of infectious diseases, with an emphasis on tropical and emerging diseases and environmental risk factors, and on an interdisciplinary approach to the challenges of the Anthropocene. In our global health and development research, we emphasize anthropogenic changes, including issues of climate, urbanization, agricultural practices and conservation.

For diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Malaria, Schistosomiasis, Chagas disease and West Nile virus we have been studying the transmission dynamics and ecology of the insect vectors and the mammalian and avian reservoir hosts, incorporating a strong field component (trapping vertebrates, collecting insects, identifying environmental features), spatial analysis, and laboratory work.

We apply tools such as geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing to gather and manage environmental data that can explain the spatial distribution of disease, vectors and risk factors. Following quantitative spatial analysis, maps and models are produced to target further research efforts, as well as in support of surveillance and control efforts by public health agencies.

Current research efforts include studies of dengue, Zika and Chikungunya in in Brazil, of the health impacts of natural disasters in Mozambique, Peru and Australia, and of West Nile virus and eco-epidemiology of disease emergence in urban areas in the U.S., and building a Center for the study of Environment and Society in the Italian Apennines.

Current teaching includes courses and seminars on the Anthropocene, climate change and environmental communication. Training of a diverse group of undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers in the U.S. and globally is a major theme of all of our research projects. Interest in application and communication of scientific information is manifested in our collaborations with Local, State, National and International Public Health and Environmental Agencies.

2020    Ribeiro GS, Hamer GL, Diallo M, Kitron U, Ko A, Weaver SC.  Influence of Herd Immunity in the Cyclical Nature of Zika and other Arboviruses. Current Opinion in Virology 40:1-10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32193135/

2020    Megersa B, Haile A, Kitron U. Energy and nutrient intake and associated factors among pastoral children in southern Ethiopia. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 41:446-458.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0379572120953042

2020     Mugabe VA, Borja LS, Cardoso CW, Weaver SC, Reis MG, Kitron U, Ribeiro GS. Changes in the dynamics of dengue incidence in South and Central America, possibly due to cross population immunity following Zika virus epidemics. Tropical Medicine & International Health 26: 272-280. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13526

2020    Anjos RO, Mugabe VA, Moreira PSS, Carvalho CX, Portilho MM, Khouri R, Sacrament GA, Ner NRR, Reis MG, Kitron UD, Ko AI, Costa F, Ribeiro GS. Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in an Urban Slum, Brazil. Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) 26: 1364-1373. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32568045/

2021    Lloyd AL, Kitron U, Perkins TA, Vazquez-Prokopec GM, Waller LA.  The Basic Reproductive Number for Disease Systems with Multiple Coupled Heterogeneities. Math Biosciences 321: 108294. doi:10.1016/j.mbs.2019.108294. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31836567/

2021    Mugabe VA, Gudo ES, Inlamea OF, Kitron U, Ribeiro G. Natural disasters, population displacement and health emergencies: multiple public health threats in Mozambique. BMJ Global Health 6:e006778. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006778

2021    Hennessee I, Clennon JA,  Waller LA, Kitron U, Bryan M. Considerations for Improving Reporting and Analysis of Date-Based COVID-19 Surveillance Data by Public Health Agencies. American Journal of Public Health 111: 2127-2132. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306520

2022    Romer Y, Adcock K, Wei Z, Mead DG, Kirstein O, Bellman S, Piantadosi A, Kitron U,  Vazquez-Prokopec GM. Isolation of Heartland virus from lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum), Georgia, USA, 2019. Emerging Infectious Diseases 28: 786-792. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2804.211540