Deus Thindwa

Deus Thindwa is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at Yale School of Public Health, working under Dr. Daniel Weinberger in the Weinberger Lab. His research employs mathematical and statistical analysis of epidemiological datasets to understand disease transmission dynamics of viruses and bacteria, with particular focus on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Streptococcus pneumoniae to inform public health prevention and control measures.

Dr. Thindwa earned his PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2022, an MSc from the same institution in 2015, and a BSc from the University of Malawi in 2010. His educational background in epidemiology and public health has equipped him with the expertise to analyze complex infectious disease dynamics using advanced mathematical modeling techniques.

His primary research interests center on understanding the dynamics of RSV following the COVID-19 pandemic and measuring the public health impact of RSV vaccines or monoclonal antibodies. He also investigates pneumococcal disease dynamics and the expanding pneumococcal vaccination landscape, particularly examining their impact on pneumococcal carriage and subsequent disease in different populations. His work combines sophisticated mathematical modeling with epidemiological data to address critical questions in infectious disease control.

Dr. Thindwa's publication record demonstrates a strong emphasis on pneumococcal disease in HIV-positive populations across Malawi and South Africa, RSV epidemiology, and typhoid fever transmission. His research often employs advanced mathematical modeling to analyze complex disease dynamics, with particular attention to how vaccination programs affect disease transmission in both high- and low-resource settings. His work bridges the gap between theoretical modeling and practical public health applications.

• Travel and Participation Grant for a conference in Toronto, Canada (2022) from International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases
• Robert Austrian Award on pneumococcal vaccinology (2022) from International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases
• UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Mucosal Pathogen Research Unit Award for PhD studies (2018)
• UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Award for MSc studies (2012)

As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Thindwa collaborates extensively with senior faculty including Dr. Virginia Pitzer, Dr. A. David Paltiel, and Dr. Eugene Shapiro. His work is supported by various grants focused on infectious disease modeling and vaccine impact assessment. He contributes to the broader mission of the Weinberger Lab, which investigates mechanisms driving epidemiological patterns of respiratory infections, particularly pneumococcal disease and RSV, using both quantitative tools and experimental laboratory studies.

Dr. Thindwa is an integral member of the Weinberger Lab at Yale School of Public Health, where the team combines quantitative analysis with laboratory experiments to address critical questions in infectious disease epidemiology. The lab's research encompasses long-term bacterial evolution, impacts of immunization on carriage and disease in different populations, and seasonal determinants of bacterial disease incidence (including viral co-infections and carriage).