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Project Data Coordinator

Duke Global Health Institute & Nicholas School of Environment

 

Research Context

 

We are recruiting a Project Data Coordinator for the Pan Lab.  The Pan Lab is currently involved in three areas of research that require assistance from a project coordinator and data management expertise: (1) malaria research in the Amazon and Central America; (2) research on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) and toxic metals exposure in South America; and (3) lead exposure in humans, animals and the environment from the use of leaded ammunition in hunting.  The research is very briefly described below.

Malaria is a vector borne disease causing an estimated 219 million infections and 435,000 deaths annually.  Since 2011, no other region in the world has experienced a larger increase in malaria cases than the Amazon. Malaria continues to be a major cause of morbidity in rural areas of the Amazon, particularly among the Indigenous who have the least access to health system resources and are often the most geographically isolated.  In contrast to the Amazon, malaria cases in Central America were falling rapidly during the 2005-2020 period, with many countries joining the Regional Malaria Elimination Initiative in 2017.  However, malaria has rebounded, with Panama experiencing an increase from just 689 total cases to over 11000 cases in 2023.  Migration is believed to have played a major role, but the region has continued challenges with managing climate/seasonal risk, policies that have limited testing and diagnostics in indigenous areas, and reports about the introduction of new malaria vectors and new malaria strains.  To address these challenges, we have three ongoing research projects in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Panama, and Honduras to study the relationship between human and vector behavior impacting malaria risk, with a key focus on the underlying roles of climate and environmental (land use) change and human mobility.  Our research is supported by NIH, NASA, and the Duke Climate-Health Initiative, and we pursue the following types of research questions: (1) how do migration networks contribute to malaria transmission; (2) how can we effectively implement a malaria early warning system; (3) what malaria interventions would be most effective at slowing malaria transmission in different socio-environmental contexts; (4) what types of climate-health visualizations are most effective at communicating forecasted malaria risk; and (5) how can we improve malaria ecology modeling across spatio-temporal scales.   

ASGM is the leading cause of anthropogenic mercury pollution.  Peru and Colombia are global Hg hotspots due to widespread ASGM activities.  The PanLab collaborates with experts from engineering, geography, biology, and policy to study human exposure effects of Hg at different periods of the life course, intervention effectiveness in reducing Hg exposure, and identification of tools for communities that can empower decision-making regarding Hg use and exposure risk. 

Leaded ammunition is an overlooked cause of human lead exposure, particularly in populations reliant on wild game for protein.  The PanLab identified leaded ammunition as a major source of lead exposure among indigenous in the Amazon and have begun to apply these same approaches to understanding lead exposure among hunters and wildlife in the US.  We partner with the NCWF, NC WRC, and the US FWS to study the e