Social and Spatial Epidemiology
Faculty in the Virginia Tech Public Health Program conduct interdisciplinary research that examines how social, environmental, and spatial factors shape health outcomes and disparities. Using epidemiology, spatial analysis, and advanced modeling, this work integrates diverse data sources to improve the understanding of patterns of disease and inequity.
Research focuses on marginalized and underserved populations, including rural communities, Veterans experiencing homelessness, and predict where disease will spread in communities at risk. Faculty investigate disparities in cancer, chronic disease, and maternal health, while also developing innovative, community-engaged approaches to improve health equity. Environmental and spatial analyses link health outcomes to exposures such as extreme weather and resource extraction.
By combining data-driven methods with community perspectives, this research provides actionable insights that inform public health practice, strengthen interventions, and advance equitable health outcomes across diverse populations.
Faculty engaging in Social and Spacial Epidemiology Research
Dr. Austin is a methodologist whose research focuses on the health of marginalized populations, including Veterans experiencing homelessness and LGBT-identified individuals living in the South. She has spent the last ten years focused on implementing best practices in public health education through the creation of innovative curricula and faculty mentoring. She is focused on strengthening the public health workforce in Southwest Virginia.
A transformative public health researcher and evaluator, Dr. Cook uses mixed methods and databraiding to connect diverse perspectives in addressing complex health and social challenges. Dr. Cook developed and directs a community-engaged perinatal equity and diasporic knowledge exchange project, Birth Equity Action & Research to Transform Health (BEARTH) Village. As Faculty Principal of a residential college, Dr. Cook leads a living-learning community that emphasizes whole health, whole student development, and residential well-being.
Dr. Eberth is an epidemiologist and health services researcher. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, she was on faculty at the University of South Carolina and Drexel University, conducting epidemiologic research on cancer-related risk factors and outcomes. She has published extensively in the field and been continuously funded for her work by the US Department of Health and Human Services and American Cancer Society since 2015. Dr. Eberth is a Past President of the American College of Epidemiology, the first epidemiologic credentialing professional society in the US.
Dr. Gohlke leads several projects that spatio-temporally merge environmental datasets with health datasets. Statistical models are then applied to these datasets to assess relationships between environmental phenomena (e.g. extreme weather events, resource extraction) and health outcomes (e.g. emergency department visits for gastrointestinal illness, preterm birth).
Dr. Holt is an epidemiologist who specializes in epidemiology, curriculum development, and public health education. Her work focuses on improving population health through data-driven approaches, student engagement, and community collaboration, with research contributions spanning obesity, health disparities, and applied epidemiologic methods.
Dr. Laura Hungerford uses geographic information system mapping and spatial analysis to study the distribution and spread of infectious diseases, especially theileriosis, anaplasmosis, and influenza. She focuses on translating these patterns into new approaches for controlling disease and enhancing health in animals and humans. For complete publications, see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/laura.hungerford.2/bibliography/public/
Dr. Ruktanonchai’s research interests focus on health equity and social justice in rural areas, where spatial disparities can be especially stark.
Dr. Ruktanonchai is an infectious disease modeler who combines data on population mobility with mathematical models to predict where diseases will go next, communities at risk of disease spread, and where interventions should be focused. He works across disease systems, including respiratory and vector-borne disease, and applies his work to Central Appalachia and across the Global South to improve infectious disease control.