Socio-ecological dynamics of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases in changing landscapes: implications for surveillance and control

Landscape changes such as deforestation can increase infectious disease spread between people, wildlife and insects. Recent pandemics highlight the urgent need to improve surveillance systems to monitor risks and prevent outbreaks; however, there are substantial knowledge gaps on how disease dynamics respond to ecological changes and how to mitigate risks. Focusing on Southeast Asia, I will study diseases transmitted by mosquitoes to monkeys and people, including dengue, malaria, Zika and Chikungunya. I will use combinations of field studies and mathematical modelling to understand how landscape changes disrupt social, biological and environmental systems to create new pathways for pathogen spread. This will be used to design enhanced surveillance systems using new sources of environmental data to more effectively detect and predict disease spillover and transmission. Generating new insights into linkages between environment, disease and health systems, I will identify how land use decisions and sustainable development can reduce emerging disease risks.