Virginia Pitzer, ScD
Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)DownloadHi-Res Photo
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Co-director, Public Health Modeling Concentration
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
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About
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Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)
Co-director, Public Health Modeling Concentration; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Biography
Virginia Pitzer, joined the Yale School of Public Health as an assistant professor in 2012. She earned her Sc.D. in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2007, and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Princeton (Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) and a postdoctoral fellow in the Research and Policy for Infectious Disease Dynamics (RAPIDD) program at the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health prior to coming to Yale.
Pitzer’s work focuses on mathematical modeling of the transmission dynamics of imperfectly immunizing infections and how interventions such as vaccination, improved treatment of cases, and improvements in sanitation affect disease transmission at the population level. Her primary research is in rotavirus, (one of the leading causes of severe diarrhea in children in developed and developing countries) for which two new vaccines have been recently introduced. She is also interested in the spatiotemporal dynamics of respiratory syncytial virus and evaluating control options for typhoid fever. Her paper Demographic Variability, Vaccination, and the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Rotavirus Epidemics appeared in Science magazine in 2009.
Appointments
Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Associate Professor TenurePrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Climate Change and Health
- Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
- Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD)
- Pitzer Lab
- Public Health Modeling
- Yale Institute for Global Health
- Yale School of Public Health
- Yale School of Public Health - NEW
- YSPH Global Health Concentration
Education & Training
- ScD
- Harvard School of Public Health (2007)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Ecology; Global Health; Immunization; Paratyphoid Fever; Rotavirus; Typhoid Fever
Public Health Interests
Respiratory Disease/Infections; Influenza; Infectious Diseases; Microbial Ecology; Modeling; COVID-19; Child/Adolescent Health; Global Health
ORCID
0000-0003-1015-2289- View Lab Website
Pitzer lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Virginia Pitzer's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Virginia Pitzer's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Virginia Pitzer is interested in exploring.
Daniel Weinberger, PhD
Gregg Gonsalves, PhD
Nathan Grubaugh, PhD
Alexandra Savinkina, MSPH
A. David Paltiel, MBA, PhD
Ernest Asare, PhD
50Publications
1,823Citations
Typhoid Fever
Rotavirus
Global Health
Immunization
Publications
2024
Impact of rotavirus vaccination in Malawi from 2012 to 2022 compared to model predictions
Pitzer V, Ndeketa L, Asare E, Hungerford D, Lopman B, Jere K, Cunliffe N. Impact of rotavirus vaccination in Malawi from 2012 to 2022 compared to model predictions. Npj Vaccines 2024, 9: 227. PMID: 39562592, PMCID: PMC11576906, DOI: 10.1038/s41541-024-01008-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsRotavirus-associated gastroenteritisRotavirus-negative childrenRotavirus-negative controlsImpact of rotavirus vaccinationVaccination coverageRotavirus vaccine impactAcute gastroenteritis casesNational immunization programPre-vaccination dataVaccine introductionRotavirus vaccineVaccine impactAcute gastroenteritisVaccine effectivenessGastroenteritis casesLow-income settingsImmunization programsVaccineModelling vaccination approaches for mpox containment and mitigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Savinkina A, Kindrachuk J, Bogoch I, Rimoin A, Hoff N, Shaw S, Pitzer V, Mbala-Kingebeni P, Gonsalves G. Modelling vaccination approaches for mpox containment and mitigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Lancet Global Health 2024, 12: e1936-e1944. PMID: 39393385, DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(24)00384-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric5-year vaccine protection following a single dose of Vi-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine in Bangladeshi children (TyVOID): a cluster randomised trial
Qadri F, Khanam F, Zhang Y, Biswas P, Voysey M, Mujadidi Y, Kelly S, Bhuiyan A, Rajib N, Hossen I, Rahman N, Islam S, Pitzer V, Kim Y, Clemens J, Pollard A, Liu X. 5-year vaccine protection following a single dose of Vi-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine in Bangladeshi children (TyVOID): a cluster randomised trial. The Lancet 2024, 404: 1419-1429. PMID: 39396349, DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(24)01494-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsTyphoid conjugate vaccineJapanese encephalitis vaccineVaccine effectivenessRandomised controlled trialsConjugate vaccineFollow-upTyphoid feverControlled trialsVaccine protectionChildren aged 9 monthsIncreased risk of typhoid feverAnti-Vi IgGRisk of typhoid feverVaccine efficacy dataTest-negative designAged 9 monthsUnvaccinated individualsHigh-burden countriesIncidence rate ratiosAnalyses of vaccine effectivenessSingle-doseSingle doseDecay of antibodiesSubgroup analysisBooster doseCelebrating a body of work
Papin J, Mac Gabhann F, Pitzer V. Celebrating a body of work. PLOS Computational Biology 2024, 20: e1012441. PMID: 39325699, PMCID: PMC11426496, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012441.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH KeywordsGenome-wide association study between SARS-CoV-2 single nucleotide polymorphisms and virus copies during infections
Li K, Chaguza C, Stamp J, Chew Y, Chen N, Ferguson D, Pandya S, Kerantzas N, Schulz W, Initiative Y, Hahn A, Ogbunugafor C, Pitzer V, Crawford L, Weinberger D, Grubaugh N. Genome-wide association study between SARS-CoV-2 single nucleotide polymorphisms and virus copies during infections. PLOS Computational Biology 2024, 20: e1012469. PMID: 39288189, PMCID: PMC11432881, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012469.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsGenome-wide association studiesSingle-nucleotide polymorphismsAssociation studiesWhole-genome sequencingAmino acid changesSingle nucleotide polymorphismsPairs of substitutionsViral copiesEpistasis testsGenome sequenceGenetic variationSpike geneAcid changesViral genomeNucleotide polymorphismsSARS-CoV-2Detect interactionsHost factorsVirus copiesCopyInfection dynamicsRT-qPCRPolymorphismOmicron BASARS-CoV-2 infectionWorkshop on the design and use of clinical trials with multiple endpoints, with a focus on prevention of RSV
Prunas O, Willemsen J, Warren J, Bont L, Schwartz J, Atwell J, Begier E, Dean N, Hirsch I, Karron R, Klugman K, Kramer R, Leidman E, Link-Gelles R, Nair H, Panozzo C, Pelfrene E, Simões E, Smith P, Srikantiah P, Sundaram M, Thindwa D, Vaughn D, Wilson E, Zar H, Pitzer V, Weinberger D. Workshop on the design and use of clinical trials with multiple endpoints, with a focus on prevention of RSV. Vaccine X 2024, 19: 100509. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2024.100509.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRespiratory syncytial virusRandomized controlled trialsPreventive therapyPrevention of respiratory syncytial virusTrial designSuccess of randomized controlled trialsVaccine trial designDesign randomized controlled trialClinical trial designEstimates of vaccine efficacyPrimary endpointSyncytial virusClinical trialsVaccine efficacyControlled trialsMeta-regression modelsSelection of primary endpointsEndpointSequential trial designTherapyMultiple endpointsA low-cost culture- and DNA extraction-free method for the molecular detection of pneumococcal carriage in saliva
Peno C, Lin T, Hislop M, Yolda-Carr D, Farjado K, York A, Pitzer V, Weinberger D, Bei A, Allicock O, Wyllie A. A low-cost culture- and DNA extraction-free method for the molecular detection of pneumococcal carriage in saliva. Microbiology Spectrum 2024, 12: e00591-24. PMID: 39028185, PMCID: PMC11370248, DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00591-24.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsDetection of pneumococciDetection of pneumococcal carriagePneumococcal carriageCarriage surveillanceLow-resource settingsChildren attending childcare centersCarriage of pneumococciDNA extractionSaliva samplesMolecular methodsCultural enrichmentImprove surveillance effortsQPCR-based protocolPneumococcal vaccineExtraction-free methodMolecular detectionNucleic acid extractionVaccination strategiesPneumococciCulture-enrichment methodExtraction-free protocolPurified DNASalivaPaired samplesCarriagePathogen diversity and antimicrobial resistance transmission of Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Malawi: a genomic epidemiological study
Dyson Z, Ashton P, Khanam F, Chirambo A, Shakya M, Meiring J, Tonks S, Karkey A, Msefula C, Clemens J, Dunstan S, Baker S, Dougan G, Pitzer V, Basnyat, Qadri F, Heyderman R, Gordon M, Pollard A, Holt K, Group S, Banda H, Biswas P, Bhuiyan A, Blohmke C, Darton T, Dolecek C, Dongol S, Mujadidi Y, Hill J, Hoang N, Jere T, Mbewe M, Msuku H, Nga T, Nkhata R, Rahman S, Rahman N, Saad N, Tan T, Thindwa D, Voysey M, Wachepa R. Pathogen diversity and antimicrobial resistance transmission of Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Malawi: a genomic epidemiological study. The Lancet Microbe 2024, 5: 100841. PMID: 38996496, PMCID: PMC11300424, DOI: 10.1016/s2666-5247(24)00047-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsParatyphi ASerovars TyphiPathogenic variantsAntimicrobial resistanceSalmonella enterica serovar TyphiEnteric feverAncestral state reconstructionS paratyphi ADeterminants of antimicrobial resistanceSingle-nucleotide variantsAntimicrobial resistance determinantsQuinolone-resistance mutationsAntimicrobial resistance transmissionCore genomePhylogenomic analysisAzithromycin resistance mutationsPhylogenetic analysisGenomic dataPopulation structurePathogen diversityS typhiTransmission of resistant strainsGenomic epidemiologyAntimicrobial resistant infectionsAge groupsGlobal patterns of rebound to normal RSV dynamics following COVID-19 suppression
Thindwa D, Li K, Cooper-Wootton D, Zheng Z, Pitzer V, Weinberger D. Global patterns of rebound to normal RSV dynamics following COVID-19 suppression. BMC Infectious Diseases 2024, 24: 635. PMID: 38918718, PMCID: PMC11201371, DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09509-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsExpanded Programme on Immunization at 50 years: its legacy and future
Wahl B, Pitzer V. Expanded Programme on Immunization at 50 years: its legacy and future. The Lancet 2024, 403: 2265-2267. PMID: 38796196, DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(24)00982-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetric
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
activity Rotavirus vaccine impact in developing countries
ResearchDetails01/01/2015 - 01/01/2019Bangladesh; Ghana; MalawiAbstract/SynopsisWe are using a combination of statistical and mathematical modeling to predict the impact of rotavirus vaccination in developing countries, then validating our predictions against the observed impact of vaccination in Malawi and Ghana.
activity Rotavirus vaccine impact in Belgium
ResearchDetails01/01/2013 - PresentBelgiumAbstract/SynopsisIn collaboration with researchers in Belgium, we are using mathematical models to understand the impact of vaccination on the incidence and distribution of genotypes causing rotavirus gastroenteritis.
activity Typhoid fever dynamics and potential impact of vaccination
ResearchDetails01/01/2012 - PresentIndia; Malawi; Nepal +1 moreAbstract/SynopsisWe are using mathematical models to better understand epidemiological patterns in the incidence of typhoid fever, predict the potential impact of vaccination, and identify key questions for future field and laboratory studies.
News
News
- February 29, 2024Source: The New York Times
Vaccines Didn’t Turn Back Mpox, Study Finds. People Did.
- November 08, 2023
Study Identifies Countries Vulnerable to Extensively Drug-resistant Typhoid
- October 02, 2023
Severe flooding linked to increased diarrhea risk in children
- September 25, 2023Source: PLOS Blog
How does mandated code-sharing change peer review?
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Public Health Modeling Unit
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350 George Street, Rm C311
New Haven, CT 06511