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Dr Joseph Timothy

Assistant Professor

United Kingdom

Originally a neuroscientist and currently an infectious disease epidemiologist working as part of the London Applied Spatial Epidemiology Research Group (LASER) and UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST).

Affiliations

Department of Disease Control
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Teaching

Since 2020 I am co-organiser of the Spatial Epidemiology in Public Health MSc module (3135) with Dr Rachel Pullan. I also contribute to Introduction to Disease Agents and Control (CID) and the Short Course in Tropical Dermatology at LSHTM.

Research

My main research interests can be divided into two main categories based on disease areas:

Within LASER I focus on the control and management of NTDs with a focus on West Africa but my research also includes broader areas of sub-Saharan Africa. My main research areas involve the design and implementation of large-scale methods and interventions to control, eliminate and eradication of NTDs. My work focuses mainly on Buruli ulcer, lymphatic filariasis, leprosy, scabies and yaws. These approaches involve multi-disciplinary approaches but my interest and contributions focus on:

- Developing and evaluating novel approaches for de-centralised and sustainable health care delivery.
- Design and management of large-scale data collection systems and real-time analytics in challenging settings.

Past activities have included the design and implementation of new integrated, community-based case finding and management for chronic skin-NTDs in Liberia in collaboration with the Ministry of Health NTD programme. Coordination of a cluster-randomised trial to eliminate soil-transmitted helminths in Malawi. Evaluation of mid-level healthcare worker training and survey methodology to assess burden and impact of scabies in urban settings in Liberia.

Currently I am co-principal investigator for UKAID funded project evaluating new case finding methods for patients with chronic lymphatic filariasis (LF) morbidity in Côte d'Ivoire to support certification of LF as elimination as a public health problem. This project focuses on new methods for community health worker- based case finding, clinical training methods and service provision and evaluation assessments to spatially map inequalities in service provision.

My other research interests based is based on the serology of Ebola virus disease and the use of population-level serology to predict areas at high-risk of disease spillover. I am currently research lead on a UKPHRST project investigating the potential application of non-invasive serological tools to identify previously unidentified Ebola virus infections and to use this data to predict spillover risk through its combination with high-resolution satellite imagery. This work stemmed from previous work using these same tools to retrospectively map past transmission chains at the index site of the 2013-16 West African Ebola virus outbreak and analysis of longitudinal B and T-cell responses from outbreak survivors in Guinea.

In my role with UKPHRST I am also part of the reserve deployable epidemiologist cadre. I have recently deployed to Cox's Bazar Bangladesh to support the response to a cholera outbreak in the Rohingya refugee camps at the end of 2019. Following this role I was re-deployed in March 2020 as epidemiology team lead for the Cox's Bazar office in support of the Sars-Cov-2 response among the host and refugee population.
Research Area
Bacteria
Disease control
Health systems
Helminths
Outbreaks
Surveillance
Epidemiology
GIS/Spatial analysis
Operational research
Randomised controlled trials
Virology
Disease and Health Conditions
Leprosy
Lymphatic filariasis
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Zoonoses
Emerging infectious diseases
Skin diseases
Country
Cote d'Ivoire
Guinea
Liberia
Malawi
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa (developing only)

Selected Publications

Methods and Approaches for Buruli Ulcer Surveillance in Africa: Lessons Learnt and Future Directions.
TIMOTHY, JW S; PULLAN, RL; Yotsu, RR;
2021
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
Epidemiologic and Genomic Reidentification of Yaws, Liberia
TIMOTHY, J; Beale, MA; Rogers, E; Zaizay, Z; HALLIDAY, KE; Mulbah, T; Giddings, RK; WALKER, SL; Thomson, NR; Kollie, KK; PULLAN, RL; MARKS, M;
2021
Emerging Infectious Diseases
Mapping suitability for Buruli ulcer at fine spatial scales across Africa: A modelling study.
SIMPSON, H; Tabah, EN; Phillips, RO; Frimpong, M; Maman, I; Ampadu, E; TIMOTHY, J; Saunderson, P; PULLAN, RL; Cano, J;
2021
PLoS neglected tropical diseases
The prevalence of scabies in Monrovia, Liberia: A population-based survey.
Collinson, S; TIMOTHY, J; Zayzay, SK; Kollie, KK; Lebas, E; Candy, N; HALLIDAY, KE; PULLAN, R; Fallah, M; WALKER, SL; MARKS, M;
2020
PLoS neglected tropical diseases
Longitudinal antibody and T cell responses in Ebola virus disease survivors and contacts: an observational cohort study.
Thom, R; Tipton, T; Strecker, T; Hall, Y; Akoi Bore, J; Maes, P; Raymond Koundouno, F; Fehling, SK; Krähling, V; Steeds, K; Varghese, A; Bailey, G; Matheson, M; Kouyate, S; Coné, M; Moussa Keita, B; Kouyate, S; Richard Ablam, A; Laenen, L; Vergote, V; Guiver, M; TIMOTHY, J; Atkinson, B; Ottowell, L; Richards, KS; ... Carroll, MW.
2020
The Lancet. Infectious diseases
A community-based validation of the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies Consensus Criteria by expert and non-expert examiners in Liberia.
WALKER, SL; Collinson, S; TIMOTHY, J; Zayzay, SK; Kollie, KK; Candy, N; Lebas, E; HALLIDAY, K; PULLAN, R; Fallah, M; MARKS, M;
2020
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
"Buruli ulcer and leprosy, they are intertwined": Patient experiences of integrated case management of skin neglected tropical diseases in Liberia.
Prochazka, M; TIMOTHY, J; PULLAN, R; Kollie, K; Rogers, E; Wright, A; PALMER, J;
2020
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
Early transmission and case fatality of Ebola virus at the index site of the 2013-16 west African Ebola outbreak: a cross-sectional seroprevalence survey.
TIMOTHY, JW S; Hall, Y; Akoi-Boré, J; Diallo, B; Tipton, TR W; BOWER, H; Strecker, T; GLYNN, JR; Carroll, MW;
2019
The Lancet. Infectious diseases
Coverage of community-wide mass drug administration platforms for soil-transmitted helminths in Benin, India, and Malawi: findings from the DeWorm3 project.
Means, AR; Ásbjörnsdóttir, KH; Sharrock, KC; Galagan, SR; Aruldas, K; Avokpaho, E; Chabi, F; Halliday, KE; Houngbegnon, P; Israel, GJ; Kaliappan, SP; Kennedy, D; Legge, H; Oswald, WE; Palanisamy, G; Rogers, E; TIMOTHY, J; Pearman, E; Ramesh, RM; Simwanza, J; Sheik-Abdullah, JF; Sheikh, M; Togbevi, CI; Witek-McManus, S; PULLAN, RL; ... Walson, JL.
2024
Infectious diseases of poverty
Disability in childhood and the equity of health services: a cross-sectional comparison of mass drug administration strategies for soil-transmitted helminths in southern Malawi.
WITEK-MCMANUS, S; Simwanza, J; Msiska, R; Mangawah, H; Oswald, W; TIMOTHY, J; Galagan, S; Pearman, E; Shaikh, M; Legge, H; Walson, J; Juziwelo, L; Davey, C; PULLAN, R; BAILEY, RL; Kalua, K; KUPER, H;
2024
BMJ open
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