Using Model-Based Geostatistics to Fight Neglected Tropical Diseases by Nicole Zhou ’25

Using Model-Based Geostatistics to Fight Neglected Tropical Diseases by Nicole Zhou ’25, Wednesday December 4, 1:00 – 1:50pm, North Science Building 015, Wachenheim, Statistics Colloquium

Abstract: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of diseases that affect one in eight people globally, particularly those living in impoverished, rural, and tropical locations. In order to better control, prevent, and eradicate NTDs, new approaches and mapping tools are required to obtain a more granular view of disease epidemiology. Model-based geostatistics, a branch of spatial statistics, has been increasingly used to understand how the prevalence of these diseases varies over space. In this talk, I will discuss the basics of the model-based geostatistical approach, including spatial Gaussian processes, variograms, and kriging. I will then illustrate its application to a case study in Kenya predicting the prevalence of one group of NTDs known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH).