Nina Zhu

Dr. Nina Zhu is a Research Fellow at Imperial College London's Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease, and serves as Research Lead for the Population Health & Policy Theme within the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance. The HPRU is a collaborative initiative involving Imperial College London, UK Health Security Agency, Cambridge University, Warwick University, and Imperial College Health Partners. Her work focuses on national and international infection control research, including leadership roles in WHO COVID-19 IPC projects.

Education includes:

• PhD in Clinical Medicine Research (Imperial College London)
• Master of Public Health (Imperial College London)
• Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering (Honours)
• Ongoing MSc in Economic Evaluation in Healthcare (City, University of London)

Research interests center on:

• Impact assessment of COVID-19 on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns and infection epidemiology using linked national datasets
• Development of surveillance frameworks for hospital-onset infections
• System Dynamics modeling to optimize antimicrobial stewardship interventions
• Applied data linkage across primary/secondary/social care to evaluate clinical outcomes
• Global health system strengthening in low/middle-income countries

Publication trends emphasize antimicrobial resistance dynamics, pandemic impacts on healthcare infections, and innovative modelling approaches. Recent work heavily features COVID-19-related infection control, AMR epidemiology in community/healthcare settings, and economic evaluations of resistance patterns.

Key projects include:

• WHO COVID-19 IPC R&D team leadership (hospital-onset infection surveillance)
• ESRC-funded ASPIRES project (modelling antibiotic use in surgical pathways)
• NIHR HPRU research on AMR in vulnerable populations (care homes, multi-morbidities)