Dr Artemis Koukounari

I am an MRC Population Health Scientist Fellow. The main focus of my research is to explore and apply advanced biostatistical analysis to further understanding of the effect upon the prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis and of the ocular bacteria causing trachoma, and the likelihood of their elimination, of interventions based on MDA, as well as to evaluate the performance of the diagnostic tools currently used for the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) of these two infections.

Schistosomiasis, and trachoma are among the most prevalent of the so-called "Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)", an umbrella term encompassing a group of parasitic, bacterial, and viral infections collectively imposing a similar disease burden to that of malaria and HIV. Decisions on Mass Drug Administration (MDA), estimates of the burden of morbidity, infection prevalence and intensity of infection and evaluation of control measures, all depend on the results from diagnostic tests.

Robust statistical analysis of relevant data will help to optimize the design of future NTD control programmes, and evaluate the impact of current strategies so that a better quality of life for some of the world's poorest communities can be achieved. The results of this research will have implications for infections prevalent in the UK, such as genital Chlamydia, partly responsible for infertility in reproductive age women.

 This research is performed in collaboration with colleagues in the Department and the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative: Christl Donnelly, María-Gloria Basáñez, Nicholas C Grassly, Manoj Gambhir, Isobel Blake, Alan Fenwick and Joanne Webster; with colleagues at the London School of Economics & Political Science: Irini Moustaki and with colleagues at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Background

In 2009 I have completed a part-time postgraduate research project supervised by Profs Joanne P. Webster and Christl A. Donnelly within the Department of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology here at Imperial College London in combination with my Senior Research Statistician role with Schistosomiasis Control Initiative.

Before moving to Imperial I did an MSc in Statistics at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BSc in Statistics in Athens University of Economics & Business in Greece. During my undergraduate studies I attended the ERASMUS program at the Department of Applied Mathematics in Social Sciences at the University II in Montpellier (France) for one year. After the completion of my BSc I worked at the Laboratory of Industrial and Energy Economics of the National Technical University of Athens (Greece) as a Research Assistant. Before joining SCI, I had worked as a Statistician at the Kobler Centre of the Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare Trust (London) where my research interest moved towards the statistical analysis of medical data, specialising in HIV/AIDS. I had presented some of the results of this work at the XV International AIDS conference in Thailand in July 2004.