BIOGRAPHY

  

     Nicole E. Basta, Ph.D., M.Phil. is an infectious disease epidemiologist whose research primarily focuses on vaccine-preventable diseases, especially those that disproportionately affect resource-poor countries. She aims to understand the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases, to assess the direct and indirect effects of vaccines and vaccination programs, and to determine optimal strategies for communicable disease prevention and control.

    Dr. Basta earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Washington School of Public Health. She read for the M.Phil. in Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, where she studied as a Gates-Cambridge Fellow. Her undergraduate work was completed at Princeton University, where she graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

    Dr. Basta was recently selected for an NIH Director’s Early Independence Award. This five-year grant will support her efforts to assess antibody persistence following vaccination with the newly developed meningococcal meningitis vaccine (MenAfriVac) in Bamako, Mali.