This series spotlights the amazing students in the YSPH Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD) program. This month focuses on students who are conducting research on climate change and infectious diseases. Here, MPH student Alyssa Chetrick tells us about the program and some of her exciting research in a Q&A format.
EMD Student Spotlight series: Alyssa Chetrick
Please tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to pursue an MPH in the EMD Department at the Yale School of Public Health?
Alyssa: I come from an international affairs background and entered the EMD program with a strong interest in topics including compulsory licensing for vaccine and therapeutics, emerging infectious disease surveillance, and the securitization of infectious diseases. I chose to pursue my MPH in the EMD Department at YSPH to build quantitative skills in communicable disease epidemiology as they are expressed in the fields of vaccine development and global health.
What is the current focus of your research?
I am working with the Joseph M. Vinetz Laboratory at Yale School of Medicine, the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), and Dr. Suneth Agampodi—an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine and IVI affiliate—to project global economic and environmental disease burden metrics of leptospirosis and advancing rapid point-of care diagnostic tools.
What are some of the most significant findings or innovations from your climate change and infectious diseases research?
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that thrives in tropical environments, transmitted through contact with water or soil contaminated with bacteria from mammals like rodents and cattle. Climate change-driven extreme weather events and global warming will extend its range beyond subtropical zones. Living in resource-poor areas with poor sanitation or flooding, along with the presence of specific mammalian hosts in the environment, will further drive the transmissibility and severity of leptospirosis.
Which emerging trends or technologies in climate change and infectious diseases research do you find most exciting?
For diseases like leptospirosis where genomic sequencing and identifying human and animal impacts are especially challenging, developing diagnostic assays to bridge gaps in data are essential. These tools will, in-turn, provide critical metrics for assessing the environmental burden of the disease.
As climate change reshapes our environment, the emergence of novel communicable diseases will increase.
Alyssa Chetrick
Where do you see the field of climate change and infectious diseases research heading in the next few years, and what role do you hope your work will play in this future landscape?
As climate change reshapes our environment, the emergence of novel communicable diseases will increase. Public health personnel play a key role in leading genomics research, data-driven policy, and ensuring equitable access to treatments, prophylaxis, and diagnostic tools.
How has the EMD Department supported your research and academic goals?
Faculty and colleagues at YSPH have deepened my knowledge on public health interventions beyond the policy-level and to formulate critical insights into the arena of global health. I have been able to discover my identity as a researcher through collaborative projects.
What advice would you give to prospective students considering applying to the EMD training programs at Yale?
The community here at YSPH is inclusive and highly motivated. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your mentors and peers – they are here to support and guide you!