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Real-World Health Risk Science
From real-world problems to measurement, analysis, decision-making, and implementation.
Our laboratory conducts interdisciplinary research to address human health challenges, building on a foundation of infectious disease epidemiology, health sciences, and social medicine.
By combining mathematical modeling, sensing technologies, and real-world epidemiological data, we strive to quantify health risks that were previously difficult to assess. Our goal is to translate these insights into evidence-informed public health practice and real-world implementation.
Research Areas
01 | Contact, Behavior, and Spatial Measurement
We measure human contact, movement, and spatial behavior using technologies such as ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning and other real-world data sources. Our aim is to understand how patterns of interaction relate to health risks and how such measurements can support real-world decisions.
02 | Real-World Epidemiology and Health Risk Dynamics
We use epidemiological, statistical, mathematical, and computational approaches to understand how infectious diseases and other health risks emerge, change, and spread across populations and real-world settings.
03 | Preferences, Decision-Making, and Supportive Environments
We study how information, costs, compensation, support, and institutional conditions shape health-related decisions. Rather than simply asking people to make desirable choices, we examine how environments can make safer actions realistic and feasible.
04 | Infection Control, Implementation Science, and Service Design
We translate scientific evidence into practical infection-control strategies, public health services, and implementation approaches, and evaluate their effectiveness, feasibility, burden, and sustainability in real-world settings.
Cross-cutting perspective
Health Risks in Social, Cultural, Institutional, and Ecological Contexts
Selected Research Programs
UWB-Based Infection Control Platform
We use high-resolution UWB indoor positioning to measure contact, duration of proximity, movement, and spatial patterns in real-world environments. The project aims to improve the assessment of infection-related contact and support more evidence-based approaches to infection control.
Real-World Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Policy Evaluation
We analyze real-world data from settings such as schools, childcare facilities, long-term care facilities, airports, communities, and public health systems to understand infectious disease dynamics and evaluate public health interventions.
Decision-Making and Supportive Environment Design
We investigate decisions related to testing, healthcare use, vaccination, isolation, travel, and other health behaviors, focusing on how information, financial costs, compensation, support, and organizational conditions influence what people can realistically choose.
Approach and Methods
Capturing Real-World Settings
UWB contact and movement data, healthcare and dental records, testing and surveillance data, questionnaires, mobility and environmental data, and qualitative data.
Understanding Risk and Dynamics
Epidemiological analysis, statistical and mathematical modeling, nonlinear time-series analysis, and contact and network analysis.
Understanding Decisions and Implementation
Discrete choice experiments (DCE), questionnaire-based research, qualitative research, implementation science, service design, and policy and program evaluation.
Research principles
We place particular importance on research ethics, privacy and responsible data use, reproducibility, and collaboration with research participants and field partners.