Commentary on Covid-19 from a JP Alum

Dr. Petra Klepac received a Ph.D. from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Biological Oceanography in 2007. Advised by Dr. Mike Neubert, Petra studied the mathematical epidemiology of phocine distemper virus in harbor seals. She’s currently an assistant professor of infectious disease modeling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She describes her current research program as lying at “the interface of epidemiology, economics, ecology and mathematics” and states that she uses a highly interdisciplinary approach to model optimal strategies for control of infectious diseases.

Petra’s research program highlights of how JPBO graduates not only make fundamental contributions to understanding biology in the ocean, but also apply their skills to diverse problems confronting society. An opinion piece written by Petra was posted by the Guardian in March 2020: What we scientists have discovered about how each age group spreads Covid-19