Think Tank observer
Dr. Mohammad Ali (PhD)
USA · Epidemiology
I graduated in economics from the University of Bangladesh in 1978, and started my professional life as a research analyst for the Government of Bangladesh. The research involved identifying barriers to agricultural production in Bangladesh. In late 1984, I joined the ICDDR,B, Bangladesh and worked with various health research groups coming from various parts of the world. After completion of a Master’s program in Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) at the University of Liège, Belgium, I embarked on a Ph.D. program at the same university and completed it in 2000. My doctoral research focused on spatio-temporal patterns of cholera in rural Bangladesh.
I have been working at the International Vaccine Institute since early 2001 and introduced GIS in vaccine evaluation studies. My newest spatial epidemiology studies investigate the effectiveness of vaccines. I demonstrate that the use of geographic variations in vaccine coverage can help evaluate the indirect protective effects of the vaccine. This new method is applicable to trials of a wide range of vaccines before they are introduced into public health practice. I am author or co-author of 120+ publications, reviewer of several peer-reviewed journals, adjunct professor of Seoul National University, and Research Consultant of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.