Who we are
Core Faculty
Lindsay Keegan
Research Associate Professor
Lindsay's research answers the question of how transmission dynamics of infectious diseases impact control and elimination efforts. Her research centers on developing and applying novel statistical and dynamical methods to address questions on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. Currently she is working on using statistical and mathematical techniques to understand the how pathogens spread in healthcare facilities. In addition, she is working on using dynamical methods to respond to COVID-19. When she’s not doing research, you can find Lindsay in the mountains doing all manner of human-powered sports. Group Website Lindsay.keegan@utah.edu
Pronouns: She/Her
Karim Khader
Research Associate Professor
Director of The Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (E3ID)
Karim’s research areas of interest are in the advancing of statistical methodology, and the use of mathematical models and computer simulations to understand the behavior of complex systems. These two general interests are complementary to one another; mathematical modeling and computer simulation represent a data-generating process which can be analyzed through the use of various statistical methodologies, while advances in statistical methodologies are needed to inform and parameterize computer simulations as the data-generating processes become increasingly complex. He has pursued these general interests across multiple domains of study with a particular focus on transmission and infection due to antimicrobial resistant organisms in healthcare facilities, particularly with respect to understanding how to improve patient outcomes by reducing rates of healthcare-associated infections and gaining deeper insights into the key factors that result in infection. Karim.Khader@hsc.utah.edu
Pronouns: He/Him
Matthew Samore
Division Chief
Matt’s expertise encompassed epidemiologic methods, electronic surveillance, and decision-support systems.
Damon Toth
Research Associate Professor
As an applied mathematician, Damon’s research interests include mathematical modeling and simulation of the spread of infectious diseases. Damon.Toth@hsc.utah.edu
Pronouns: He/Him
Katharine S. Walter
Assistant Professor
Katharine S. Walter, PhD is an infectious disease epidemiologist working on developing and applying methods to leverage pathogen variation to characterize pathogen transmission dynamics. Her research focuses on transmission of M. tuberculosis in high incidence settings and the expansion of the Valley fever fungus, Coccidioides, under rapid climate change in the American West. Alongside her research, she writes about health inequity and environmental change for The Nation, Nautilus, and elsewhere. Group website
Pronouns: She/Her
Research Associates
Jay Love
Research Associate
As an integrative biologist, Jay leverages his cross-discipline experience to study complex natural phenomena in living systems. His current research focuses on the joint influence of intervention and host heterogeneity on pathogen evolution and associated implications for human health. When out of the office, he's probably lost in the woods.
Pronouns: He/Him
Postdoctoral Fellows
Current Students
Tierney O’Sullivan
Doctoral Student in Population Health Sciences
Tierney is a PhD student in the Population Health Sciences Department of the School of Medicine. Her research interests include modeling the dynamics of transmission of infectious diseases using phylogenetic and mobility data, and investigating the effectiveness of interventions at preventing disease transmission.
Pronouns: She/Her
Cuauhtliztac Hemi Nicholas
Undergraduate Student in Mathematics
Cuauhtliztac is an undergraduate student in the Mathematics Department with an emphasis in Bioinformatics whose goal is to become proficient in building machine learning models and in the long-term hopes to apply this knowledge to interests in longevity and regenerative medicine. Currently Cuauhtliztac is helping in the development of epidemic simulations to help improve our understanding of healthcare-associated infections and the impact of infection control strategies on preventing infection.
Kathy (Zhiyao) Lin
Undergraduate Student in Mathematics
Kathy is undergraduate student in the Mathematics Department with research interests in modeling the dynamics of microbial communities in the Arctic and Antarctic. Her previous work has focused on investigating the density, conductivity, and effectiveness of sea ice with algae and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Currently, her research is shifting towards developing dynamic models to better understand microbial interactions with their environment, with the potential to extend this work to include ordinary differential equation (ODE) modeling of microbial communities within the human body.
Elle Stevenson
Undergraduate Student in Biology
Elle is a third year undergraduate student in the Biology Department with an emphasis in anatomy and physiology with the hopes of becoming a pediatric emergency medicine physician. Her research focuses on trends and factors that impact antibiotic prescribing practices in Medicaid and is a collaboration with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Holly Shoemaker
Doctoral Student in Population Health Sciences
Focus: Clinical and Translational Epidemiology
Holly is a Ph.D. student and research assistant studying the epidemiology of infectious diseases. She is interested in infectious disease spread, prevention, and modeling, particularly in healthcare settings. In her free time, you can find her dancing Argentine Tango.
Pronouns: She/Her
Edward (Xiaoyan) Wang
Undergraduate Student in Computer Science
Minor: Biology
I am currently a sophomore at the University of Utah, majoring in Computer Science with plans to minor in Biology. My academic journey is driven by a passion for integrating computer science with medicine, aiming to leverage my technical skills to advance healthcare solutions. Outside of my studies, I love traveling, hiking, snowboarding, and scuba diving.
Matthew Mietchen
Research Associate
Matthew joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in April 2023 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Carolina Population Center. His research, in collaboration with Justin Lessler (UNC) and Lindsay Keegan (University of Utah), focuses on using simulation models to understand biases in key epidemic parameters—such as hospitalization and mortality rates—during infectious disease outbreak detection, particularly with subcritical pathogens. He is also planning to collaborate with the newly established Atlantic Coast Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and Analytics (ACCIDDA), which includes local public health and other universities, to enhance public health’s capacity in infectious disease modeling and analytics.
Matthew earned his PhD in Interdisciplinary Research with a focus on infectious disease modeling from Washington State University. His doctoral work provided valuable insights into pathogen transmission dynamics by structuring mechanistic models based on varying levels of population interaction. His prior experience includes eight years as an epidemiologist at a state health department, which continues to shape his research goals in supporting public health efforts against disease outbreaks.
Outside of work, Matthew enjoys quality time with his daughter and wife, taking family trips, exploring the outdoors, and playing the guitar.
Pronouns: He/Him
Staff
Kristina Stratford
Program Manager
Kristina is a program manager in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah. She has over 10 years of experience managing a variety of research projects, from laboratory science, implementing interventions at acute care and long-term care facilities, to supporting epidemiological and mathematical modeling studies. Kristina’s area of expertise is project management. She earned her MS in Project Management from the University of Southern California and holds multiple project management certifications including the PMP and PMI-ACP. In addition to her role in the Division of Epidemiology, she teaches project management classes as an Associate Instructor with the University’s Professional Education department. When out of the office, she enjoys traveling, singing, and baking.
Pronouns: She/Her
Hannah Higgs
Regulatory Coordinator
Ms Higgs organizes and coordinates all components of research study, including IRB approval, amendments, and renewals, as well as preparation of reports, project management methodology, maintaining study documentation, and scheduling team and other study-related meetings. Ms Higgs has rich experience with large cohort studies and managing large data/modeling focused programs with multiple component projects. She has years of experience working with these investigators on CDC funded programs under multiple funding mechanisms including SHEPheRD, MInD, and Epicenter. Most recently, she has managed the SHEPheRD program that analyzed large data sets from multiple sources including the VA, state public health, and publicly available data. Notably, all deliverables were submitted on time for the SHEPheRD program, in large part due to her support. Her rapport and trust that she has built with the team of investigators on this proposal will facilitate an effective working environment and contribute to the success of this program.
Pronouns: She/Her
Delaney Thornton
Research Development Associate
Delaney Thornton, MPH is a research project manager in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah. After a variety of clinical and research experiences, she discovered a love for collaborating with public health partners to improve community health outcomes through disease prevention and education interventions. Alongside CFA ForeSITE project management, she supports the Sociotechnical System Evaluation, Design and Implementation team in conducting qualitative research. Outside of her work life, Delaney enjoys practicing yoga, honing her pottery skills, and watching movies.
Pronouns: She/Her
Alumni
Alex Beams
PhD in Mathematics
Alex worked with us as a graduate student in Mathematics and he is now a postdoctoral fellow at Simon Frasier University. Alex is interested in the mathematics of nonlinear dynamics, who likes to think about the ecology and evolution of infectious disease in these terms. When he is not tampering with code or studying math, you may find him outside on a bike or on skis. Alex is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Simon Frasier University.
Emma Coates
Biostatician I
Emma is currently a PhD student at McMaster University.
Alicia Horn
B.S. in Biology
Alicia was an undergraduate student who is interested in infectious disease epidemiology. She was studying the impacts of face mask mandates in Utah on the growth rates of COVID-19 between 2020-2021. She is currently a graduate student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Pronouns: She/Her
Alaiyah Fields
BRIDGE-UP Undergraduate Summer Student
Alaiyah is an undergraduate student at Texas Southern University. As a BRIDGE-UP fellow, she is working on understanding the impact of conflict on diphtheria outbreaks.
Pronouns: She/Her
Kyle Kazemini
B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science
Mac LaPrete
MS in Mathematics
Mac was a graduate student in Mathematics focused on modeling infectious disease dynamics. He is interested in the evolution and transmission of antibiotic resistance, as well as transmission heterogeneity and data missingness on various contact networks.
Pronouns: He/They
Allison McElroy
B.S. in Biology
Allison worked with us as a fourth year undergraduate biology student. She is interested in infectious disease epidemiology and is currently pursuing a graduate degree.
Tess Sheets
PhD in Mathematics
Tess is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the CDC Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics. Tess' personal website
Sharia Ahmed
Research Associate
Sharia is an infectious disease epidemiologist and Research Associate at the University of Utah in the Divisions of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases. Her current research involves developing and validating clinical decision rules for the management of pediatric diarrhea, and using mathematical modeling approaches to guide antibiotic usage in clinical care. More broadly, Sharia's research explores variation in diarrheal disease susceptibility, and how this knowledge can be harnessed to improve health outcomes. Sharia received her PhD in Epidemiology from Oregon State University, MPH in Global Epidemiology from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, and BA/BS in Global Studies/Biology from the University of Minnesota. Sharia is currently an Assistant Professor at Emory University.