Tell us about your current research

I am currently coming to the end of my PhD, which has focused on leptospirosis transmission dynamics, funded by the MRC-LID scheme and supervised by Adam Kucharski and Rachel Lowe. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, found in tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. It is primarily considered to be transmitted by rodents, but many mammals have been shown to be hosts, and outbreaks often occur following heavy rainfall and flooding.

As part of my research, I have explored leptospirosis transmission dynamics using seroprevalence surveys, as well as exploring the role of climate on leptospirosis outbreaks. I also completed a systematic review looking at transmission models of environmentally persistent diseases, which has been published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

How did you first become interested in infectious disease modelling?

After my undergraduate degree, I did an MSc in Epidemiology at LSHTM which is where I first became interested in infectious disease modelling.

I decided to do my summer project with Sebastian Funk, also at CMMID, looking at measles transmission in the UK. This was an incredibly useful experience and ultimately led me to decide to do a PhD at LSHTM. 

Describe your career journey so far

My undergraduate degree was in Biology, and from there I decided to do an MSc in Epidemiology at LSHTM, and I really enjoyed the more applied nature of epidemiology. Following my Master’s I joined Public Health England as part of the field epidemiology services. 

I was still interested in infectious disease modelling, so after a year I decided to take a job at the Animal and Plant Health Agency as a scientific modeller. I worked on building large livestock transmission dynamic models for different cattle borne diseases such as TB and rift valley fever. 

I was interested in gaining more technical skills, and this is what prompted me to do a PhD at LSHTM. During my PhD, I have also had the opportunity to undertake a six-month placement at the Joint Biosecurity Centre (now UK Health Security Agency) with the advanced analytics team. I was involved in answering questions about COVID-19 predictions, with rapid turnaround times which informed policy decisions. This was during Spring 2021, where a lot of questions arose regarding restrictions easing and vaccination. It was a great experience, and I really enjoyed being in a setting that was much more policy focused.

In the near future, I am hoping to submit the final chapter of my PhD for publication.   

What’s your favourite thing about working at LSHTM?

I think it would be the colleagues and people I’ve met. It’s been great to be part of CMMID, which has given me a huge network of people to turn to when issues arise (computation and statistical) who have always been very willing to give their time and energy.

I’ve also been really lucky to have a great group of friends that I’ve met during my PhD who have really helped keep me going, particularly during the pandemic when everything has been remote.

Do you have any advice or tips for other early career researchers? 

Going for coffee and tea breaks is never a waste of time!

PhDs can be quite isolating, particularly during the pandemic,  but I’ve found it so helpful to discuss my work with friends and colleagues and hear about other people's work. It also builds a support network that you can turn to when things aren’t going your way. 

How can other people contact you?

Email: eleanor.rees1@lshtm.ac.uk
Twitter: @EleanorMRees