Elizabeth Carlton is a professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. She is an environmental epidemiologist who studies how infectious diseases spread and how climate change is altering the distribution of infectious diseases. Her research focuses on improving surveillance and control tools for infectious diseases including emerging diseases and neglected tropical diseases. She values transdisciplinary approaches and collaborative research. Dr. Carlton’s current work includes a studies using genomics, epidemiology and ecology to understand barriers to schistosomiasis elimination in residual transmission hotspots; and efforts to understand how to improve surveillance for emerging infectious disease threats. She co-led the Colorado COVID-19 modeling group, providing rapid analysis and evidence synthesis to Colorado leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Carlton teaches courses on environmental and occupational epidemiology, the health impacts of climate change, and the emergence and control of infectious diseases. She leads the Doctor of Public Health program in Environmental and Occupational Health. She received her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of California Berkeley, her MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, and her BS in biology from Yale University. Prior to graduate school, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Learn more about Dr. Carlton’s Research Group >
Areas of Expertise
- Environmental epidemiology
- Global health
- Emerging infectious diseases
- Health impacts of climate change
- Surveillance and control of infectious diseases
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
- MPH, Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
- BS, Biology, Yale University
Awards
- Delta Omega National Honorary Society in Public Health, Inducted 2017
- M. Donald Whorton Writing Award, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, 2013
- Dean’s Recognition Apple for Teachers, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, 2008, 2009
Affiliations
- Section Editor, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases; Scientific Advisory Group Member, NIH Tropical Medicine Research Centers
Courses
- EHOH 6617 Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology
- EHOH 6635 Climate Change and Health
- EHOH 6624 Infectious Diseases, Environmental Contexts
- EHOH 7403 Research Methods: Climate, Disaster and Humanitarian Perspectives
Research
- NIH/NIAID, Schistosomiasis at the edge of elimination: characterizing sources of new infections in residual transmission hotspots. Nov 2018 – Oct 2023. Role: PI
- MIDAS Network, Using climate & mobility data to model SARS-CoV-2. Jan 2020 – June 2022. Role: PI
- CSTE, Mathematical models for the Rocky Mountain region: estimating and communicating impacts of COVID-19 interventions. Feb 2022 – Jan 2023.
- AB Nexus. Control-theoretic design of data-driven policies for containing transmission of infectious diseases. Dec 2020 – Jun 2022. Role: co-PI.
Publications and Presentations
- Buchwald AG, Hayden MH, Dadzie SK, Paull SH, Carlton EJ. 2020. Aedes-borne disease outbreaks in West Africa: A call for enhanced surveillance. Acta Trop. 209:105468.
- Buchwald AG, Grover E, Van Dyke J, Kechris K, Lu D, Liu Y, Zhong B, Carlton EJ. Human mobility associated with risk of Schistosoma japonicum infection in Sichuan, China. 2021. Am J Epidemiol. 190(7):1243-1252.
- Nikolakis ZL, Hales NR, Perry BW, Schield DR, Timm LE, Liu Y, Zhong B, Kechris KJ, Carlton EJ, Pollock DD, Castoe TA. 2021. Patterns of relatedness and genetic diversity inferred from whole genome sequencing of archival blood fluke miracidia (Schistosoma japonicum). PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 15(1):e0009020.
- Shortt JA, Timm LE, Hales NR, Nikolakis ZL, Schield DR, Perry BW, Liu Y, Zhong B, Castoe TA, Carlton EJ, Pollock DD. 2021. Population genomic analyses of schistosome parasites highlight critical challenges facing endgame elimination efforts. Sci Rep 11(1):6884.
- Buchwald AG, Adams J, Bortz DM, Carlton EJ. 2020. Infectious Disease Transmission Models to Predict, Evaluate, and Improve Understanding of COVID-19 Trajectory and Interventions. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 17(10):1204-1206.
- Buchwald AG, Bayham J, Adams J, Bortz D, Colborn K, Zarella O, Buran M, Samet J, Ghosh D, Herlihy R, Carlton EJ. 2021. Estimating the Impact of Statewide Policies to Reduce Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Real Time, Colorado, USA. Emerg Infect Dis. 27(9):2312-2322
- Weaver AK, Head JR, Gould CF, Carlton EJ, Remais JV. 2022. Environmental Factors Influencing COVID-19 Incidence and Severity. Annu Rev Public Health.