* Assistant professor * Department of Medicine * Harvard Medical School * Associate member - Broad Institute * Instructor - Social Medicine Health & Inequalities- Brigham and Women's Hospital * Instructor - Infectious Disease Unit - Massachusetts General Hospital.

2 post-doctoral fellows, 5 graduate students, 1 undergraduate student

My research group has the following major areas of interest:

1. Within-species comparative genomics of M. tuberculosis strains. We are currently collaborating with the Microbial Sequencing Center of the Broad Institute on a TB genome sequencing project focused on developing new tools for molecular epidemiology, elucidating the genetic basis of transmissibility in drug resistant strains of tuberculosis and identifying proteins that may serve as antigenic determinants in M. tuberculosis.
2. Modeling the transmission dynamics of emerging infectious disease. We are developing transmission models to study the dynamics of various emerging infectious diseases within populations and are linking these models to cost effectiveness analyses to evaluate the impact of intervention strategies. Our work has focused on MDR tuberculosis, West Nile virus, SARS, and sexually transmitted diseases.
3. Human iron metabolism and tuberculosis susceptibility. We are studying the effect of ferroportin polymorphisms and hepcidin on tuberculosis susceptibility, both in pilot epidemiologic studies in humans and in laboratory models of infection.
4. Identifying risk factors for the transmission of drug sensitive and resistant tuberculosis transmission using molecular and conventional epidemiologic methods. We are collaborating with international partners in Peru, Russia and South Africa on these epidemiologic studies.
5. Outcomes research in tuberculosis treatment and control programs. We are working with the Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Partners in Health to evaluate treatment and intervention programs and assess risk factors for poor outcomes such as mortality, non-adherence and acquisition of drug resistance.
6. Pedagogy in interdisciplinary research and emerging infectious disease. Through a new Roadmap grant initiative, we are developing materials and curricula to train interdisciplinary teams in research in emerging infectious diseases.
7. Exhaled particles and their relationship to infectivity of infectious agents. We are currently conducting pilot studies to try to understand how bioaerosols are produced and how they affect the transmissibility of influenza.

MD, 1990, Harvard Medical School
MPH, 1996, Harvard School of Public Health
DPH, 2001, Harvard School of Public Health