Donal Bisanzio is an expert in infectious diseases in humans and animals. A member of our global health team since 2017, he has an academic background in veterinary medicine and extensive experience in field work, including trapping and collecting wild animals. Much of his research focuses on vector-based and zoonotic diseases, such as malaria, Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, and parasitism. He is skilled in spatio-temporal statistical models, network analysis, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and many other methods and technologies for analyzing the spread of disease. This research helps guide interventions and control measures that protect people in vulnerable areas.
Currently, Dr. Bisanzio provides analytical support to several global health projects. He is working with the monitoring and evaluation team for StopPalu+ to quantify the effect of malaria interventions in Guinea. He has also built an epidemiological model for cost-benefit analysis of a malaria reporting system in Thailand. In collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Tropical Center of Sacro Cuore Hospital, he is leading a project to estimate the worldwide prevalence of the parasitic disease strongyloidiasis.
Dr. Bisanzio is licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Italy. He is a member of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the International Society of Geospatial Health. An advocate of open research, Dr. Bisanzio uses only open-source software, including Linux, R, QGIS, GRASS, MySQL, and SQLite.