Ellen Santos, Ph.D., MS Joins the Saint Louis University Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department
The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice has named Ellen Santos, Ph.D., MS as an Assistant Professor in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
In the academic landscape, Dr. Santos previously spent the past three years as an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and another seven years at the University of Arizona earning her master of science in epidemiology, certificate in college teaching and doctorate in epidemiology.
In her research, Dr. Santos applies epidemiological skills to vector-borne diseases, particularly malaria and Chagas disease and has experience from the entomology to the epidemiology levels of these disease systems.
“I am interested in anything with parasites or insect vectors. I consider myself a vector-borne disease epidemiologist, and I mainly focus on Chagas disease, malaria, and other pathogens transmitted by pesky mosquitoes,” she said. “I am most interested in the intersection between ecology, biology, and public health- the nexus where disease prevention can occur.”
Her overall goals are to use her knowledge, skills, and experience to design and evaluate more sustainable disease prevention methods and interventions.
She brings both applicable teaching and research experience to SLU that comes from a passion for learning.
“I first became interested in public health while taking a parasitology class at Augustana College. Before my Junior year I had not heard of epidemiology, but when I started learning about parasite life cycles and control and prevention of these diseases, I was hooked! From there I completed an MS in Epidemiology because I loved learning the research process. Then I decided to continue on and completed a PhD in Epidemiology, all the while maintaining my interests in parasitic diseases and vector-borne diseases.”
As epidemiology specifically has expanded with new and better understandings of sub-fields like social epidemiology, Dr. Santos cites a great expansion to the things that we consider related to public health.
Relative to her experience with the intersection of parasitology and epidemiology, Dr. Santos is excited to explore and understand more about ‘kissing bugs.’
“There is not much known about Kissing Bugs (the vector of the parasite that causes Chagas disease) in the Midwest, and very recently some great collaborations with Texas A&M University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are helping to improve our understanding,” she said. “We are beginning to collect these insects, test them for the parasite, map their locations, and understand where and how people are encountering them. It’s very exciting to be exploring something that is brand new in an area!”
As Dr. Santos makes comes to SLU, one of the things she is looking forward to the most is the research collaboration and meeting the students.
“I am excited to meet the students and to cultivate my research trajectory. Students bring so much energy and I am looking forward to learning their paths to public health, their passions and interests,” she said.
College for Public Health and Social Justice
The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the college offers nationally recognized programs in public health and health administration.