Profile

Justin Lessler, PhD, MS

Associate Professor

Bio

The major focus of my research is the development and application of statistics, dynamic models and novel study designs to better understand and control infectious disease. In particular, I am interested in creating synergies between infection control practice, data collection and infectious disease dynamics. Exemplary of this goal, my collaborators and I have developed methods to estimate the distribution of incubation periods for an infectious disease using coarse data, applied these methods to develop the best available estimates for a number of viruses, and showed how these estimates can be used to improve infection control practice. My current research projects include work on the transmission dynamics of influenza in southern China, and the most effective use of vaccine in the control of measles and cholera. I am a member of the Infectious Disease Dynamics group.