معرفی
Dr. Karen Levy is an Adjunct Professor in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health at the University of Washington School of Public Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS). Previously, she served on the faculty at Emory University for a decade before joining UW in 2020. Her research focuses on the ecology and epidemiology of waterborne and enteric diseases, integrating environmental microbiology and epidemiology to study water quality, food safety, and climate impacts on disease transmission. She leads the Levy Research Group, which investigates linkages between the environment and enteric disease transmission, with a focus on vulnerable populations.
Education:
- Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (UC Berkeley, 2007)
- M.P.H. in Epidemiology (UC Berkeley, 2006)
- M.Sc. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (UC Berkeley, 2002)
- B.A. from Stanford University (1995)
Research Interests: Dr. Levy’s work spans antibiotic resistance, global health, infectious disease dynamics, safe water access, sanitation practices, climate change impacts, and microbiome research. Her group employs interdisciplinary approaches, including field studies in Ecuador, Mozambique, and Peru, to address challenges such as waterborne pathogens, food hygiene in poultry supply chains, and the role of environmental exposures in health outcomes. Recent projects include the PAASIM study on urban water supply improvements and the ECoMiD cohort study on gut microbiome development in children.
Advising & Grants: While no specific advisees are listed, her research group collaborates widely on projects funded by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Her work emphasizes translational research to inform public health policies and interventions.
Labs & Teams: The Levy Research Group operates within DEOHS, focusing on environmental health interventions, microbiological methods, and community-based participatory research. Their activities include fieldwork in low- and middle-income countries to assess WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) systems and their impact on disease burden.
