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  • Who

    I'm the Director of Science @ The Rockefeller Foundation. I lead a team of transdisciplinary researchers to shape, develop and coordinate integrative research into how data-driven modeling can end current and prevent future pandemics with a focus on climate change & health. I'm a disease ecologist with a focus on ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. I earned my Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolution at Silwood Park, Imperial College London. After a MRC postdoctoral fellowship (2013-2015) @ Imperial College, Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Department, I took a postdoctoral position @ the Odum School of Ecology, UGA, on the ecology & evolution of vaccine preventable childhood diseases (2015-2019). I hold a faculty position @ Indiana University since 2019.

    What

    I am building a transdisciplinary research program that leverages mathematical and computational modeling, machine learning, and data science to identify the eco-evolutionary, demographic, and environmental drivers of pathogen emergence, persistence, and spread. My lab focuses on the ecology of infectious diseases in humans and other animals. Our research agenda seeks to understand the dynamics of biological populations and epidemics, focusing on how to bring experimental and observational data together with mathematical theory. Tackling biological questions of public application and importance. The majority of my body of work has been on vaccine preventable diseases dynamics, with a view to understanding fundamental processes in ecology and evolution. The lab ongoing research falls into the following themes: (i) pathogen evolution and phylodynamics; (ii) seasonal disease transmission; (iii) anthropogenic effects (e.g. vaccines); (iv) adaptive behavior.

    Why

    I'm fascinated by trying to understand the frequency, magnitude and shape of seasonal disease dynamics and the effects of population heterogeneity. Primarily, identifying evolutionary, ecological and demographic drivers of (re-) emergence and seasonality of infectious disease systems, with the aim of informing vaccination and other control public health policies. Scaling up individual-level interactions to understand the population-level outcomes (e.g., the evolution of virulence or immune evasion).

    How

    My approach is to develop theoretical models to understand how human and other animal systems behave generally, while simultaneously seeking to confront and validate models with data and make predictions. We use a combination of mathematical modelling, phylodynamics approaches and cutting-edge statistical inference techniques. We focus on developing coupled models (epi-econ, evo-eco) to holistically understand a system. With these methods we are able to make quantitative, testable predictions and confront process-based models with parallel data streams. This is the central premise of my lab's research program and the common thread of our work. At Rockefeller we focus on a co-creation models with partners from several parts of the globe.

  • Selected ongoing projects

    A selection of projects our lab is involved is based on understanding long-term data on spatio-temporal incidence patterns of microparasitic infections such as pertussis and measles. In addition, Some new projects on COVID-19 and schistosomiasis. We formalize scientific hypotheses as mathematical models to make precise predictions and powerful inference.

    Adaptive behavior and disease transmission

    Integrative Epi-economic framework to understand adaptive changes in behavior and transmission consequences

    In collaboration with Dan Kaffine Akhil Rao & Antonio Bento

    Evolution of resistance to Schistosomiasis

    Investigating population structure and differential transmission potential in snail populations in Senegal.

    In collaboration with Jason Rohr, Maurine Neiman & Curt Lively

    Alpha and Beta CoVs spillover risk

    Spillover risk surveillance- big brown bats in Colorado

    In collaboration with Rebekah Kading

    Disease spreading modeling through social and genomic data of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States

    Integrating paralel data streams

    In collaboration with Carla Mavian

    Bacterial Evolutionary Signatures

    We are developing holistic mechanistic models of pertussis evolution for countries under different vaccine regimes

    In collaboration with Andy Preston, Matthew Hahn & Michael Weigand

    Tick borne emergence

    Using Indiana as an Early Warning System for tick expansion in the Midwest. Phylogeographic analysis of tick and pathogen diversity and disease dynamics

    In collaboration with Karo Oomodior, Keith Clay, Curt Lively & Ellen Ketterson

    Evolution of antiviral resistance

    Computationally test the hypothesis that increased HA binding avidity is associated with increased rates of Oseltamivir resistance.

    In collaboration with Sam Scarpino 

    Investigating the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in complex urban environments

    Mathematical models for MBDs

    In collaboration with Marco Ajelli & others

  • Selected Publications

    For a complete list of publications check my google scholar. Brief description below with links for the publications

    Early risk-assessment of pathogen genomic variants emergence

    Susswein et al 2023 MedRxiv

    Estimation of the incubation period and generation time of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants from contact tracing data

    Manica et al 2023 Epidemiology & Infection

    Genomic epidemiology sheds light on the recent spatio-temporal dynamics of Yellow Fever virus and the spatial corridor that fueled its ongoing emergence in southern Brazil

    Giovanetti et al 2023 MedRxiv

    Wastewater surveillance of pathogens can inform public health responses

    Diamond et al 2022 Nature Medicine

    Disease-economy trade-offs under alternative pandemic control strategies

    Ash et al Nature comms 2022

    Model-based evaluation of alternative reactive class closure strategies against COVID-19

    Liu et al 2022 Nature comms

     

    Designing isolation guidelines for COVID-19 patients with rapid antigen tests

    Jeong et al Nat comms 2022

    Vaccinations Against COVID-19 May Have Averted Up To 140,000 Deaths In The United States

    Gupta et al 2021 Health Affairs

    Revisiting the guidelines for ending isolation for COVID-19 patients

    Jeong et al 2021 eLife

    Prevalence of Clinical and Subclinical Myocarditis in Competitive Athletes With Recent SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Results From the Big Ten COVID-19 Cardiac Registry

    Daniels et al JAMA Cardio. 2021

    HIV cases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

    Ejima et al JAIDS 2021

    Global effects of delays in detection of COVID-19

    nearing submission (available upon request)

    Estimation of the incubation period of COVID-19 using viral load data

    Ejima et al. Epidemics 2021

    also in medRxiv

    Information Seeking Responses to News of Local COVID-19 Cases: Evidence from Internet Search Data

    Bento et al PNAS 2020

    Effects of mitigation strategies on COVID-19 averted cases in Sichuan, China

    Liu et al. Plos Comp Bio 2020

    COVID-19 incidence in the county increased on average by a statistically significant 0.024 per thousand residents

    Andersen et al. 2020 

    medRxiv

    Evolutionary consequences of feedbacks between within-host competition and disease control

    Greischar et al. JID 2020

    Tracking public and private response to the covid-19 epidemic

    Gupta et al. NBER 2020

    Inferring Timing of Infection Using Within-host SARS-CoV-2 Infection Dynamics Model: Are “Imported Cases” Truly Imported?

    Ejima et al medRviv 2020

    Core pertussis transmission groups in England and Wales: A tale of two eras

     

    Bento et al. 2018. Vaccine

    Maternal pertussis immunisation: clinical gains and epidemiological legacy

    Bento, King & Rohani. 2017. Eurosurveillance

    Forecasting epidemiological consequences of maternal immunization

    Bento & Rohani 2016. Clinical Infectious Diseases

    EpiJSON: A unifed data-format for epidemiology

    Bento & Rohani 2016. Clinical Infectious Diseases

    Physiological proteins in resource-limited herbivores experiencing a population die-off

    Finnie et al. 2016. Epidemics

    A review of epidemiological parameters from Ebola outbreaks to inform early public health decision-making

    Garnier et al. 2017

    Exploration of the power of routine surveillance data to assess the impacts of industry-led badger culling on bovine tuberculosis incidence in cattle herds

    van Kerkove et al. 2015. Scientific Data

    Multiple pathways mediate the effects of climate change on maternal reproductive traits in a red deer population

    Donnelly et al. 2015. Veterinary Record

     

     

  • Teaching | Mentoring | Workshops

    I have been fortunate to create and teach a variety of classes and mentor several outstanding undergraduate and MSc. and Ph.D. students.

     

    Three unifying principles guide my teaching and mentoring approach:

    (i) combining foundational principles with practical application

    (ii) guided active learning

    (iii) quantitative reasoning

     

    I have also organized NSF funded workshops on addressing complex systems problems

    These are examples of some courses I have designed and or taught:

    Moving towards a holistic transdisciplinary view to Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases                       

    2022 NSF funded transdisciplinary workshop

    Public Health Surveillance and Monitoring

    E 250 @ Indiana University

    Introduction to Scientific Computing

    Statistics and Computing in R for Ecologists and Epidemiologists (Indiana University- Bloomington

    R bootcamp

    Self guided workshops

    Computational Modeling

    Computational Modeling ECOL 8540 - applied to infectious disease systems (May 2018 @ IDEAS, UGA)

    Introduction to modelling

    Introduction to modelling with R - apply population models (2017 @ Odum School of Ecology)

    R code along workshop

    Introduction to modelling with R - based on a course i designed while at UGA

  • Find us here

    Bento Lab

     

    812-856-1729

  • Advisory Work

    COVID-19

    1

    WHO 

    Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of experts for educational institutions and COVID-19 would be to provide strategic and technical advice to WHO, UNESCO and UNICEF on matters relating to educational institutions and COVID-19 transmission.

    2

    BIG Ten

    Member of the Epi- Core cardiac registry for COVID-19

    3

    Epidemiologist in the COVID-19 advisory group

  • Media Coverage

    Links to coverage of our work

    Women in Ecology

    Nature Ecology & Evolution

    IDEAS Data Clinic

    COVID-2019

    See excerpts interviews here , The Guardian, StatNews, wtiu, Expresso (Portugal), wfiu, LEO, wtiu, IU, WSJ (for coverage on collaborative work), FOX59, WTFIU, WSJ, Reuters, KHN, MSNBC, NYT, THE, FOX59, ERI, TODAY show, NYT, NIA, Sinclair

    AJPH Podcast

    Recording available here

  • The Bento Lab

    Get to know us & join us!

    Ana Bento PI

    Eco-epidemiologist with a focus on ecology and evolution of infectious diseases.

    Maria Litvinova former Postdoc

    SPH

    Opidoids models

    COVID-19 network models

    Seth Edmunds former Phd Student

    SPH

    Varun Rao former PhD Student

    NRT

    Lola & Margot Honorary members

     

  • Social Me

    Check out my latest updates!

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