Applying Geospatial Analysis to Studies of Communicable Diseases

Summary: Infectious/communicable diseases have (re)emerged at local, regional, and global scales within the context of contemporary global environmental change, globalization, urbanization, and environmental problems. Geospatial analysis can play a major role in analyzing, modeling, and predicting epidemics and pandemics. In this forum presentation, Dr. Shi will use examples from his own research, ranging from modeling dengue fever and COVID-19 to detecting environmental risks of Lyme disease, to demonstrate some important trends in this area, including the integration of spatialization and individualization, the bottom-up approach, the integration of small, medium, and big data, and the computational methodology.

About the speaker: Xun Shi, Ph.D., is a Professor of Geography at Dartmouth College. His main research interest is in developing and applying quantitative geospatial methodologies to health issues. Dr. Shi has published over 90 journal articles, covering spatiotemporal epidemic modeling of infectious/communicable diseases, spatial environmental health, assessment and optimization of access to healthcare services, and geospatial data infrastructure issues in epidemiology and public health. He earned a B.S. in geography from Beijing University, a M.S. in geography from the Chinese Academy of Science, a M.Phil. from the University of Hong Kong, and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.