Jacob Gizamba, Ph.D. candidate in the Population, Health and Place doctoral program at the University of Southern California, presented his research in a poster session at the 2024 World Congress of Epidemiology (WCE). This year’s WCE, the world’s premier epidemiology conference, took place in Cape Town, South Africa from September 24-27, 2024.

Gizamba’s poster was on “Identifying High-Risk areas for Untimely Administration of Hepatitis B Birth Dose (HepB-BD) in Low-Middle Income Settings: A Spatial Epidemiological approach.”

He explained, “My work dives deep into the nexus of population health and place, using spatial epidemiology thinking to answer critical public health questions. I like to frame it as: ‘Mapping WHERE to explain WHY, to direct HOW.’”

“Currently, I’m applying this thinking to tackle Hepatitis C, a pressing global health challenge targeted for elimination by 2030,” Gizamba added.

Gizamba’s Ph.D. advisors and mentors include Jeffrey Klausner, Darren M. Ruddell, Siqin (Sisi) Wang, Brian K. Finch, Laura Ferguson and Matteo Sesia.