Dr Rachel Lowe
Rachel's research involves understanding how environmental and socio-economic factors interact to determine the risk of disease transmission.
Her current project concerns modelling the impact of global environmental change on vector-borne diseases, such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.
The aim is to develop statistical and mathematical models to understand the relationship between climatic, socio-economic and demographic factors and variations in disease risk in space and time. Understanding geographical risk is important for targeting limited public health resources, while predicting future risk helps public health authorities plan for changing disease patterns due to shifts in climate or human behaviour.
Alongside her research, she organises and teaches on international and regional climate and health capacity building activities for postgraduate students and public health practitioners, with partners at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.
Her outreach activities and previous research on dengue early warning systems have been showcased in policy reports published by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, World Meteorological Organization and World Health Organization.
Rachel's research is funded by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund.