معرفی
Linda Ward is a biostatistician and epidemiologist affiliated with the Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University. She transitioned from a software development background to health research, specializing in biostatistics and molecular epidemiology. Employed at Menzies from 2004 to 2023, she initiated a PhD in 2023 and relocated to Queensland. Her research focuses on Burkholderia pseudomallei (causative agent of melioidosis), including phylogenetic analysis, geographic origin attribution via MLST, and environmental-clinical correlations.
Education: PhD candidate (Queensland), prior qualifications in software development and biostatistics.
Research interests span melioidosis epidemiology, microbial genomics, and public health applications in tropical settings. Key projects include the Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study and investigations into emerging B. pseudomallei sequence types in Darwin.
Collaborations involve molecular epidemiology teams analyzing weather-event impacts on melioidosis incidence. Grants include HDR Project funding for her PhD. She contributes to Menzies' statistical support unit and has co-authored over 30 publications on melioidosis and B. pseudomallei.
Labs/Teams: Core member of Menzies' infectious disease research group, collaborating with Prof. Bart Currie and others on melioidosis initiatives.
