Leadership
MAPPS PI
Mark Lurie, a native South African, is an infectious disease epidemiologist specializing in HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa. He earned his BA in Political Science and Film Studies from Boston University in 1986, a Masters Degree in African History from the University of Florida in 1991, and his PhD in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 2001. A common thread in Dr. Lurie’s research is on understanding the role of human migration and social interaction in epidemic spread. Through the MAPPS project, Dr. Lurie is turning his expertise in mobility and social mixing towards pandemic prediction and prevention.
MAPPS Co-PI, Thrust 4
Anna Lysyanskaya is a Professor of Computer Science at Brown University. She joined Brown in 2002, after obtaining her PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Lysyanskaya’s research area is cryptography, especially privacy-preserving cryptographic protocols. A major theme of her work is balancing privacy and accountability, and she is famous for her work on anonymous credentials (algorithms that allow users to prove that they are authorized without disclosing any additional information). Dr. Lysyanskaya currently serves as Director of the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). She is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award and numerous other grants, the Sloan Foundation Fellowship, and the Google and IBM Faculty Fellowships.
Julia Netter, DPhil
MAPPS Co-PI, Thrust 4
Julia Netter is a political philosopher interested in liberal theory, moral pluralism, and the ethics of digital technology. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Brown University and coordinates the Computer Science Department's Socially Responsible Computing Program. Previously, she spent two years as a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Political Theory Project at Brown. Prior to that, Dr. Netter completed her DPhil in political philosophy at the University of Oxford. Much of her current research focuses on challenges to autonomous agency created by the data economy.
Sohini Ramachandran, PhD
MAPPS Co-PI, Thrust 1
Sohini Ramachandran addresses problems in evolutionary theory and human population genetics. She received her bachelor's degree in Mathematical and Computational Sciences at Stanford University in 2002 and her PhD from Stanford University in Biological Sciences in 2007. Her postdoctoral work with John Wakeley studied coalescent theory. At Brown University, she holds the positions of Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Director of the Center for Computational Molecular Biology, and Associate Professor of Computer Science. The Ramachandran Lab at Brown uses mathematical modeling, applied statistical methods, and computer simulations to make inferences about evolutionary history from present-day samples of genomes. Dr. Ramachandran is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, and the recipient of both an NSF CAREER award and multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health.
MAPPS Co-PI, Thrust 2
K. C. Toussaint, Jr. is a Professor and Senior Associate Dean in the School of Engineering at Brown University with appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. Prior to joining Brown, Dr. Toussaint was on faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for 12 years. Dr. Toussaint directs the laboratory for Photonics Research of Bio/nano Environments (PROBE Lab), an interdisciplinary research group which focuses on both developing nonlinear optical imaging techniques for quantitative assessment of biological tissues, and novel methods for harnessing plasmonic nanostructures for light-driven control of matter. He is a recipient of a 2010 NSF CAREER Award, the 2014-2015 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the 2015 Illinois Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, the 2017 Illinois Everitt Award for Teaching Excellence, and the 2019 Distinguished Promotion Award. Dr. Toussaint is also a Fellow of the OSA, SPIE, and AIMBE, as well as a Senior Member in the IEEE. In addition, he served as the PI and inaugural Director of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Nanomanufacturing (nanoMFG) Node at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2017-2019. Dr. Toussaint is also part of CELL-MET, a multi-institutional NSF Engineering Research Center in Cellular Metamaterials (EEC-1647837).
MAPPS Co-PI, Thrust 3
Thomas Trikalinos studied medicine in Greece and now specializes in decision making under deep uncertainty. Dr. Trikalinos is a Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice and directs the Center for Evidence Synthesis in Health (CESH) at Brown University. CESH faculty and staff work on novel methodologies for comparative effectiveness research, with emphasis on the steps of evidence synthesis (by means of systematic review and meta-analysis) and evidence contextualization (by means of decision and economic analysis). Dr. Trikalinos and his colleagues strive to modernize and optimize the processes of evidence-synthesis by porting methodologies from computer science and applied mathematics.
Supporting Staff
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Mobility Analysis for Pandemic Prevention Strategies (MAPPS) Project Manager
Peyton Luiz (she/her) is affiliated with the International Health Institute at the Brown University School of Public Health. She graduated with a BS in Global Health from Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies in 2022. Peyton’s academic interests include infectious disease epidemiology, migrant health, and sexual and reproductive health. She is also an avid language learner with proficiency in Spanish (reading, writing, speaking), Portuguese (reading, writing), and French (reading). Peyton serves as a core member of the App and Hardware Working Group, volunteers as a research assistant with the Data Working Group, and supports the Modeling and Simulation Working Group.
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Aquielle is a research assistant for the Pandemic Center at Brown University. She volunteered as a workshop support team member with MAPPS in January 2023 and is now a member of the MAPPING@Brown Phase I Community Advisory Board (CAB).
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Lead Research Software Engineer, Brown University Center for Computation and Visualization
As a member of the Center for Computation and Visualization (CCV) Graphics, Software and Data Core, Bradford Roarr partners with academic researchers and administrators to bring modern software engineering, visualization and data science practices to their work. Bradford is developing a MAPPS mobile application that uses Bluetooth to approximate study participants’ movements and interactions. The app and its accompanying hardware will be deployed for the MAPPING@Brown School of Public Health Feasibility Study in Fall 2023.
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Associate Director of Research Strategy, Brown University Office of the Vice President of Research
Betsy Loucks develops strategies for federal research funding and coaches scientific teams. She has been a lead strategist and facilitator for 25 years in non-profits, small businesses, social ventures, academia and government agencies on projects addressing energy, sustainability, public health, medicine and community development. Ms. Loucks is trained in Appreciative Inquiry (Concordia University, Montreal) and other collaborative innovation approaches from the Rockwood Leadership Institute (Berkeley, CA) and the Interaction Institute for Social Change (Cambridge, MA). She has a masters (ScM) in social epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health; MBA from Concordia University, Montreal); and BA from Brown. In association with MAPPS, Ms. Loucks facilitated the Privacy and Ethics in Pandemic Data Collection and Processing workshop in January 2023 and continues to coach the research team through their PIPP Phase II preparation.
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Project Manager, Brown University International Health Institute
Marta Wilson-Barthes is a project manager and data analyst at Brown University School of Public Health. She graduated with a MPH in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2015 and has since conducted NIH-funded research in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Ms. Wilson-Barthes was a support team member at the Privacy and Ethics in Pandemic Data Collection and Processing workshop in January 2023. Her main responsibilities within MAPPS are research compliance and grant writing.
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Research Software Engineer, Brown University Center for Computation and Visualization
Galen Winsor is a Research Software Engineer within the Brown University Center for Computation and Visualization. He joined the MAPPING@Brown app development team in June 2023. The app and its accompanying hardware will be deployed for the MAPPING@Brown School of Public Health Feasibility Study in Fall 2023.
Supporting Faculty
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Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health
Nancy Barnett conducts research on substance use interventions, the influence of social networks on alcohol use, and the use of wearable technologies for the assessment and treatment of alcohol use disorders at Brown’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. As a MAPPS collaborator, Dr. Barnett supports the Data Working Group and is a member of the MAPPING@Brown Phase I Community Advisory Board (CAB).
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Peterson Family Assistant Professor in Health Policy, Brown University School of Public Health
Alyssa Bilinski’s research focuses on developing novel methods for policy evaluation and applying these to identify interventions that most efficiently improve population health and well-being, including through infectious disease management. Dr. Bilinski is a member of the MAPPS Modeling and Simulation Working Group.
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Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Brown University School of Public Health
Stavroula Chrysanthopoulou teaches in the Department of Biostatistics and directs the Master's Program in Biostatistics. She received her BSc in Statistics from Athens University of Economics and Business, MSc in Biostatistics from University of Athens, and PhD in Biostatistics from Brown University. Dr. Chrysanthopoloulou’s research interests span the fields of complex predictive models applied in medical decision making, calibration and predictive accuracy methods, causal inference, missing data and high performance computing techniques. She is a key member of the MAPPS Modeling and Simulation Working Group.
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Research Scientist, Department of Health Services, Policy & Practice, Brown University School of Public Health
Jason Gantenberg is a research scientist in the Department of Health Services, Policy & Practice and an Assistant Professor of the Practice of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. His academic interests include causal inference, computational modeling, complex systems, and infectious disease dynamics. Dr. Gantenberg contributes to all aspects of MAPPS in some capacity. Most notably he is a key member of the App and Hardware Working Group and leads software development within the Modeling and Simulation Working Group.
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Assistant Professor of the Practice of Engineering
Ian Gonsher is Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Engineering and Department of Computer Science at Brown University. His teaching and research interests examine creative process as applied to interdisciplinary design practices, and the development of emerging and speculative technologies. In Fall 2022, Ian taught an engineering capstone on human-centered design for the MAPPING@Brown project.
Website: https://www.gonsherdesign.com/
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Professor of the Practice of Computer Science
Principal, Hurley Consulting
Deborah Hurley is the founder of a consulting firm specializing in cybersecurity, privacy. At Brown University she is a Professor of the Practice of Computer Science and Associate Faculty Director of the Data Privacy Executive Master in Cybersecurity program. Dr. Hurley is a Global Innovation at Harvard University's Policy Fellow, Technology and Entrepreneurship Center (TECH) and has served as an official of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Dr. Hurley offers ethical and legal input on the MAPPING@Brown study design through the App and Hardware Working Group.
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Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health
Aditya Khanna (he/him) is a computational epidemiologist and statistician in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown. His research uses network analysis, agent-based modeling and predictive analytics to inform initiatives to achieve health equity. Dr. Khanna is a core member of the MAPPS Modeling and Simulation Working Group.
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Senior GIS Developer, Brown University Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4)
Guixing Wei is the Senior Geographic Information Science (GIS) Developer and a spatial data scientist at Brown University’s center of Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4). His research interests include environmental epidemiology, data mining of social media data, human mobility and travel behavior modeling, and the development of geospatial analytical methods. Dr. Wei develops geospatial data collection techniques and applications as part of the MAPPS App and Hardware and Data Working Groups.
Supporting Students
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Nelson Anangwe (he/him) is a graduate student in the Department of Global Health at Brown University School of Public Health. With a focus on collaborative research partnerships and coordinating community engagement, Nelson brings valuable experience to his role in the MAPPS Ethics and Community Engagement group. He is committed to advancing ethical and equitable research practices that prioritize the voices and needs of the communities they serve.
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Julia is a first-year MPH student at the Brown School of Public Health. She co-leads study recruitment for the MAPPS Community Entry Working Group.
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Thomas Cronin is an undergraduate student at Brown University concentrating in public health. He is a member of the MAPPS Community Entry Working Group.
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Mal Go (she/they) is an undergraduate Public Health concentrator. Her research focuses on gestational diabetes in AAPI populations and maternal co-morbidities in other vulnerable populations. They conducted qualitative data collection in focus groups and are a member of the MAPPS Data Thrust team's systematic review.
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Jorge Ledesma is a fourth-year PhD student in epidemiology at Brown University. He was recently honored for his induction into the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health. As a MAPPS team member, Jorge contributes to software development with the Modeling and Simulation Working Group.
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Zhijun Liu (she/her) is a senior at Brown University, concentrating in Applied Mathematics - Computer Science. Her academic interests include data science, machine learning, and statistics. Zhijun served as a research assistant with the MAPPS Data Working Group.
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Bryn Loftness is a PhD candidate in the Complex Systems and Data Science program at University of Vermont and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She collaborates primarily within the M-Sense Research Group developing digital phenotyping algorithms by leveraging wearable sensor signals. She also works remotely with the Harvard Sabeti Lab through the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT specializing in behavioral phenotyping and digital epidemiology projects. Bryn engages in a wide variety of research across her collaborations, with an overall vision for developing novel computational methods supporting the betterment of community, physical, and mental health across populations. She is a crucial member of the MAPPS Data and Hardware Working Group.
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Maria Pieruccini (she/her) is a second year MPH student at the Brown University School of Public Health. Her studies encompass global infectious disease epidemiology, and her thesis work uses GIS to analyze mobility patterns of tuberculosis patients. In Fall 2022 Maria was part of the MAPPS x Brown Engineering human-centered design collaboration and led student and staff focus groups to inform MAPPING@Brown study design. She now co-leads study recruitment for the MAPPS Community Entry Working Group.
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Gage Reitzel (he/him) is a MPH candidate in digital health at the Brown University School of Public Health. His work consists of creating high-powered visualizations from network analysis and agent-based modeling to inform the featurization of digital health applications in the spirit of realizing better health outcomes amid an interconnected world. Gage is a graduate student researcher working with the MAPPS Modeling and Simulation Working Group.
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Sam is a PhD student at the University of Vermont interested in policy interventions on complex systems under constraints. He brings expertise in network science, scientific computing, and modeling to a range of interdisciplinary projects from computational social science to agent-based contagion models. He is a key member of the MAPPS App & Hardware and Simulation & Modeling Working Groups.
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Yatharth Sharma (he/him) is a second-year undergraduate student studying Computational Biology and Public Health. His research interests center around incorporating stochastic models toward addressing public health goals, from preventing future pandemics to eliminating health disparities. Yatharth is a Research Assistant with the MAPPS Data Working Group.
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Kiku Shaw is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Brown University concentrating in computational biology with focus on public health. She is a member of the Simulation and Modeling Working Group.
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Brooke Ury is a fourth-year student in Brown University’s undergraduate/MPH program. She intends to focus her masters studies in epidemiology.
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Xilin (Rice) Wang (he/him) is an undergraduate student studying applied mathematics and computer science at Brown University with research interest in machine learning and mathematical modeling. Rice is a group member of the MAPPS Modeling and Simulation Group working on software development.
Volunteers
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Mohammed Akel recently graduated from Brown University with a BA in Computer Science and Public Health.
Josi DeHaven has extensive experience as a nursing professional and health department official in her native Indiana. In addition to volunteering as a workshop support team member, she was part of the MAPPS x Brown Engineering human-centered design collaboration in Fall 2022.
Scott Griffy is a PhD student in computer science at Brown University.
Aquielle Person is a recent graduate from Brown University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is a Research Assistant at Brown’s Pandemic Center.
Maria Pieruccini (she/her) is a second year MPH student at the Brown University School of Public Health. In Fall 2022 Maria was part of the MAPPS x Brown Engineering human-centered design collaboration and led student and staff focus groups to inform MAPPING@Brown study design. She now co-leads study recruitment for the MAPPS Community Entry Working Group.
Gage Reitzel (he/him) is a MPH candidate in digital health at the Brown University School of Public Health. His work consists of creating high-powered visualizations from network analysis and agent-based modeling to inform the featurization of digital health applications in the spirit of realizing better health outcomes amid an interconnected world.
Leah Rosenbloom is a PhD student in computer science at Brown University.
Isabella Zangari is an undergraduate student at Colgate University.
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Lucas Blackmore (he/him) graduated in May 2023 with an MPH concentrating in global health and epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health.
Alexis Friedman is an MPH student at Brown University School of Public Health. She was part of the human-centered design collaboration in Fall 2022.
Jae In Kim is a graduate student at Brown and RISD studying Design Engineering. As an UI/UX designer, Jae In designed mobile screens and conducted comprehensive user research to identify and address data privacy concerns for a mobile application.
Esha Lakhotia studies computer science at Brown University. She was part of the MAPPS x Brown Engineering human-centered design collaboration in Fall 2022 and represents this group’s work in the App and Hardware Working Group.
Adrian Lee is pursuing a master's degree in biotechnology at Brown University. He was a project leader at Design x Health and assisted in the group's initial background research and wireframing for MAPPS.
Emily Ma is a recent graduate of the MPH program at Brown University School of Public Health. In Fall 2022 she was part of the MAPPS x Brown Engineering human-centered design collaboration and led student and staff focus groups to inform MAPPING@Brown study design.
Alexander Mathew is pursuing a master’s degree in computer science at Brown University. He served as a student representative in the App and Hardware Working Group.
Mal Go (she/they) is an undergraduate Public Health concentrator. Her research focuses on gestational diabetes in AAPI populations and maternal comorbidities in other vulnerable populations. They conducted qualitative data collection in focus groups and are a member of the MAPPS Data Thrust team's systematic review.
Shrey Mehta (Class of 2026) is pursuing an Sc.B degree in Neuroscience, with a pre-medical focus. Throughout Fall 2022, Shrey worked with Professor Gonsher and the MAPPS project team to solidify the initial foundations of pandemic predictability through data collection and a smartphone app. This included prototyping a preliminary framework of the app, which considered user feasibility and data privacy.
Maria Pieruccini (she/her) is a second year MPH student at the Brown University School of Public Health. Her studies encompass global infectious disease epidemiology, and her thesis work uses GIS to analyze mobility patterns of tuberculosis patients. Maria now co-leads study recruitment for the MAPPS Community Entry Working Group.
Jeffrey Tao studies human-computer interaction at Brown University. He was part of the MAPPS x Brown Engineering human-centered design collaboration in Fall 2022 and represented this group’s work in the App and Hardware Working Group.
Jenny Wei studies applied math and biology at Brown University. She was part of the MAPPS x Brown Engineering human-centered design collaboration in Fall 2022 and represented this group’s work in the App and Hardware Working Group.
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Joann Barao is the Assistant Director of Applied Learning at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Nancy Barnett is a Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Richard Cancio is Education and Training Manager within the Brown University School of Public Health’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Wilmot James is a Senior Advisor to the Brown Pandemic Center.
Gulmeena Khan is a second-year MPH student at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Daphne Lo is a second-year MPH student at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Nick McCarthy-Belash is an undergraduate student at Brown University concentrating in public health.
Aquielle Person is a recent graduate from Brown University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is a Research Assistant at Brown’s Pandemic Center.
Irene Ma Quilantang is a graduate student pursuing her PhD in behavioral and social sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Diane Schlacter serves as the Assistant Director of the MPH Program at Brown University School of Public Health.
Cheyenne Thompson is a second-year MPH student at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Josh Trepanier is an IT Support Consultant at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Nadia Tsado is a second-year MPH student at the Brown University School of Public Health.
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Recruitment leaders:
Maria Pieruccini (MPH student, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Julia Braeunig (MPH student)
Volunteers:
Nelson Anangwe (MPH student, Global Health)
Batool Behnam (MPH student, Global Health)
Thomas Cronin (undergraduate student, Public Health)
Gulmeena Khan (MPH student)
Olivia Lu (undergraduate student, Public Health)
Irene Ma Quilantang (PhD student, Behavioral and Social Sciences)
Gage Reitzel (MPH student, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Kiku Shaw (undergraduate student, Computational Biology)
Aleksandra Stamper (PhD student, Epidemiology)
Tishara Reid (MPH student)
Brooke Ury (undergraduate/MPH student)
Vivian Uzoechi (MPH student)
Chilsea Wang (undergraduate student, Public Health, pre-med)
Katie Yetter (MPH student)
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Nelson Anangwe (MPH student, Global Health)
Batool Behnam (MPH student, Global Health)
Joan Chepngeno (MPH student)
Li Feng (PhD student, Mathematics)
Rebecca Horst (MPH student)
Zhijun Liu (undergraduate student, Applied Math)
Mahsa Maleki (MPH student)
Irene Ma Quilantang (PhD student, Behavioral and Social Sciences)
Zhenghao Rao (PhD student,
Maryna Rasputna (MPH student)
Shreenidhi Sharma (Data Manager, Hassenfeld Institute)
Yatharth Sharma (undergraduate student, Public Health)
Aleksandra Stamper (PhD student, Epidemiology)
Chilsea Wang (undergraduate student, Public Health, pre-med)
Rice Wang (undergraduate student, Applied Math & Computer Science)