Location:
Level 6, Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Open to
All
Contact for enquiriesÂ
Reception +61 (0)2 9385 0900 recpt@kirby.unsw.edu.au
The Kirby Institute and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science is pleased to present:
Professor Michael Wimberly, South Dakota State University
"Integrated Surveillance and Modelling Systems for Climate-Sensitive Diseases."
Abstract:
Outbreaks of many infectious diseases, including malaria, are often linked to climatic fluctuations and land use changes that affect the life cycles of vectors, hosts, and pathogens. Early warning of the timing and locations of epidemics can facilitate more effective targeting of resources for disease prevention, control, and treatment. However, these predictions must be accurate to ensure that potential outbreaks are not missed and resources are not wasted responding to predicted outbreaks that do not occur. To improve the accuracy and utility of malaria risk forecasts, we are using modeling approaches that integrate multiple streams of information, including epidemiological data from passive surveillance systems and environmental monitoring data from earth observing satellites. We have also produced novel software to automate data acquisition, information processing, and disease forecasting and we have created web-based interfaces to facilitate public health end users' access to forecasts and other information products. This innovative translational approach to health informatics enables us to continually assess the accuracy and utility of the forecasts so that we can upgrade and improve the underlying technologies throughout the project.
Bio:
Mike Wimberly is a professor of Natural Resource Management and a Senior Scientist in the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence at South Dakota State University. Before coming to SDSU, he worked as a research ecologist for the USDA Forest Service and as a faculty member at the University of Georgia. His research addresses the impacts of climate and land use change on ecosystems and human health. He is currently leading the Epidemic Prognosis Incorporating Disease and Environmental Monitoring for Integrated Assessment (EPIDEMIA) project, which is aimed at identifying environmental risk factors and developing predictive models for vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. Results are being applied to forecast outbreaks of human West Nile virus disease in the United States and epidemic malaria in the highlands of East Africa. Professor Wimberly also analyses and models the effects of global change on human land use, natural disturbances, and landscape-scale vegetation dynamics. Specific topics include the interactions between human populations and wildfires in the western United States, the effects of land use change, logging, and fire on tropical forests in West Africa, and the ecological impacts of agricultural extensification in the Great Plains.