Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit

The Unit conducts research on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases of global public health importance and has strong collaborative research links in many countries. The Unit also undertakes research on maternal and perinatal health. The research ranges from ecological studies investigating explanations for population differences in disease transmission, through cohort and case-control studies of disease aetiology and randomised controlled trials of public health interventions, evaluation of health programmes and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases. Research is conducted on a wide range of infections, including: HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs); tuberculosis; malaria and other tropical parasitic diseases; hepatitis, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases; respiratory diseases; gastrointestinal infections; viral haemorrhagic fevers; CJD and autoimmune diseases. Staff include medical and statistical epidemiologists, demographers and social scientists. There is considerable interest in methodological work, including research on statistical methodology, transmission models, genetic epidemiology, immunoepidemiology and measurement of health outcomes.

Current research includes:

• epidemiology of, and risk factors for, HIV, HSV2 and other STIs in developing countries; ecological studies of variations in the HIV epidemic in Africa; role of HIV subtypes;
• evaluation of interventions against HIV and other STIs; randomised trials of adolescent reproductive health interventions; therapeutic interventions in HIV-positives in developing countries;
• epidemiology of TB and leprosy; risk factors for active disease; immune responses and correlates of protection; host genetics and TB; interaction of HIV, TB and atypical mycobacteria;
• epidemiology and control of vaccine preventable diseases; evaluation of vaccine programmes; vaccine trials; evaluation of impact of vaccines on burden of disease; host genetics of vaccine response;
• epidemiology and control of malaria and other parasitic infections; trials for the prevention and treatment of malaria; studies of host genetics and malaria risk;
• epidemiology of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the UK; epidemiology of viral haemorrhagic fevers, particularly Ebola, Marburg, Lassa; epidemiology of epilepsy; epidemiology of autoimmune disorders;
• epidemiology of women's health and wellbeing in developing countries, including gender-based violence; women's health in conflict and post-conflict settings;
• epidemiology of maternal health in developing countries; design and evaluation of community- and facility-based interventions to improve maternal health; study of the quality of maternity care; anthropology of health system strategies and decision-making around policy and practice to improve maternal health;
• epidemiology of perinatal and neonatal mortality in developing countries; design and evaluation of interventions to improve perinatal and neonatal health;
• epidemiology of child health: research into child survival, especially childhood pneumonia (prevention, treatment, risk factors);
• mathematical models to understand the transmission dynamics and control of infectious disease, including: primary and secondary transmission of vCJD; the role of contact networks in the transmission dynamics of sexually transmitted infections and HIV; molecular methods (strain typing) to understand sexual networks for bacterial sexually transmitted infections; development of models incorporating resistance and adherence for the transmission of malaria in Africa;
• epidemiological and statistical methodology for research on infectious diseases; genetic epidemiology; immuno-epidemiology; design of intervention trials; design and analysis of community-randomised trials; methods for measuring adult, maternal and child mortality and reproductive morbidity in developing countries.