Michael E. Emch
Ph.D., W.R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor, Geography and Environment, Epidemiology
emch@unc.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar Profile
PubMed Publications
CPC Publications
ORCID iD
Michael Emch’s expertise is in spatial epidemiology, disease ecology, and geographic information science applications of public health mostly on infectious diseases. He studies spatial patterns of diseases by investigating the role of social, natural, and built environments in disease occurrence in different places and populations, leading efforts to incorporate spatial sciences into different areas of inquiry in the health sciences.
Emch's expertise is in infectious disease ecology, neighborhood determinants of health, and geographic information science applications of public health. He is a member of the UNC Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab, and he leads the Spatial Health Research Group. His research explores spatio-temporal patterns of disease, primarily infectious diseases of the developing world. Disease patterns are studied using a holistic approach by investigating the role of natural, social, and built environments in disease occurrence in different places and populations. Diverse statistical and spatial analytical methods are informed by theory from the fields of medical geography, epidemiology, ecology, and others. Three present studies include: (1) Comparative evolution and ecology of swine influenza viruses in China and the United States, (2) The geography of H5N1 avian influenza in the United States: Human-environment ecosystem drivers of transmission and viral evolution, and (3) Predicting the spread of antimalarial drug resistance using deep learning surrogates.
Associated Projects
- Impacts of Environment, Host Genetics and Antigen Diversity on Malaria Vaccine Efficacy
- Modeling the Pandemic Lifecycle for Disease Control