Professor Calistus Ngonghala has been awarded an NSF grant titled “eMB: Collaborative Research: Integrated Hybrid Mathematical Modeling for Schistosomiasis Elimination,” starting September 1, 2024.
This project is a collaboration amongst the University of Florida (Gainesville), the University of Georgia (Athens), and the University of Massachusetts (Amherst).
Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms and transmitted through contact with contaminated freshwater, poses a significant public health threat in many developing regions. Hence, designing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the disease’s impact is timely and critical. This project aims to advance our understanding of schistosomiasis transmission dynamics and control. Specifically focusing on schistosomiasis in Zanzibar and Ethiopia, this research will create and use innovative mathematical modeling tools to understand how various factors like human movement and environmental changes influence disease transmission. This will help to identify the best strategies to control and eventually eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem. The project is not only scientifically important but also has significant public health, educational, and societal implications. The educational and societal impacts include training a diverse group of students (including students from underrepresented groups) and fostering interdisciplinary and collaborative research skills. The project will provide novel analytic tools for efficient resource management and inform evidence-based policies for sustainable elimination of schistosomiasis, thereby significantly impacting global health. A workshop in Zanzibar will further help building workforce in quantitative public health and disseminating scientific knowledge.