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Josh Colston

Bio

I am an epidemiologist and spatial demographer with research interests that include infectious diseases, childhood undernutrition and their socio-economic and environmental determinants in low-resource settings. I coordinates the Planetary Child Health and Enterics Observatory (Plan-EO) Initiative, and provide analytical expertise to various NASA-, NIH-, CDC-, WHO-, EU- and Gates Foundation-funded research projects at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. This research involves characterizing environmental drivers of enteric diseases, emerging febrile illnesses, and COVID-19 using earth observation (satellite), household survey, and surveillance data. I also teaches the undergraduate Introduction to Epidemiology course in the Department of Public Health Sciences. A US-born Brit, I have a masters’ degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In my spare time I enjoy playing the guitar, going on road trips, and eating spicy seafood.

Education

Affiliations

Preferred Pronouns

He/him/his

Personal Academic Website

https://www.planeo.earth/jm-colston

Topics of Interest/Expertise
 

Countries of Work/Collaboration

Ecuador
United States
Malawi
Ethiopia
Angola
Mali
South Africa
Mexico
Gambia
Suriname
Germany
Bangladesh
Mozambique
Tanzania, United Republic of
Thailand
Guatemala
Nepal
Guyana
Haiti
Brazil
Nicaragua
Niger
Honduras
India
United Kingdom
Pakistan
China
Peru
Colombia
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Lao Peoples Democratic Republic

Projects

The Planetary Child Health Observatory: an interdisciplinary research initiative and web-based dashboard for mapping enteric infectious diseases and their risk factors and interventions in LMICs

National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
People: Josh Colston
2022 – 2027 Continue Reading The Planetary Child Health Observatory: an interdisciplinary research initiative and web-based dashboard for mapping enteric infectious diseases and their risk factors and interventions in LMICs

Papers

Colston JM, Fang B, Ahmedjonova V, Hossain N, Kansara P, Schiaffino F, Nong MK, Revathi AA, Zaitchik B, Chernyavskiy P, Lakshmi V, Kosek MN. (2026). Mapping the prevalence of household-scale livestock ownership by animal taxon in low- and middle-income countries: A prediction model using template model builder. PloS one, 21(7)

Fang B, Hossain N, Kansara P, Herdzik K, Strumpf A, Damgaard C, Harris V, Zaitchik B, Lakshmi V, Kosek M, Colston J. (2026). Updated subnational estimates of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene access in Low- and Middle-Income countries: a spatially referenced hierarchical ordinal multinomial modeling analysis using R template model builder. Research square

Colston JM, Devleesschauwer B, Flynn T, Schiaffino F, Revathi AA, Hossain N, Chen YT, Meister D, Bagherian A, Binggeli O, Zheng E, David N, Walter ES, Kirk MD, Bari CD, Lake R, Havelaar AH, Pires SM, Robertson LJ, Minato Y, Majowicz SE, Kosek MN. (2026). Updated Estimates of the Global, Regional and National Burden, and Etiology of Diarrheal Diseases Transmissible via Food: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analytical Modelling Study for the World Health Organization. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Paredes Olórtegui M, Schiaffino F, Peñataro Yori P, Colston JM, Mourkas E, Shapiama Lopez WV, Pinedo Vasquez TN, Garcia Bardales PF, Flynn TG, Ramal-Asayag C, Hughes HR, Davis E, Russell BJ, Brault AC, Alegre Palomino YA, Munayco CV, Liu J, Houpt E, Pascoe B, Cooper KK, Parker CT, Kosek MN. (2026). Genomic epidemiology of a 2023-2024 Oropouche virus disease outbreak in Iquitos, Peru: descriptive analysis of a case control study for acute febrile illness. Lancet regional health. Americas, (56)

Bergman AJ, Daniels-Donkor S, Go S, Datesman AR, Colston JM, Mitchell EM. (2026). HIV and Human Papilloma Virus Community Service Integration Among Women: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis. The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care : JANAC

Majowicz SE, Colston JM, Kirk MD, Pires SM, Minato Y, Founou LL, Devleesschauwer B, di Bari C, Estrada-Garcia T, Vaes L, Havelaar AH, Roberts C, Gobena T, Kumar A, Al Natour F, Lake RJ, Nane GF, Robertson LJ, Fernandez K, Scallan Walter E, Kosek M, , . (2026). WHO estimates of the global, regional, and national burden of 14 foodborne diarrhoeal enteric hazards, 2000-21: an updated data synthesis. The Lancet. Global health

Gómez de la Torre JC, Alvarado L, Quiroz Reyna M, Cajamarca I, Tipe S, Vargas B, Colston JM, Romaina Cachique L, Riveros Ramirez M, Peñataro Yori PP, Parker CT, Paredes Olórtegui M, Ochoa T, Schiaffino F, Kosek MN. (2026). Enhancing surveillance of foodborne bacteria and antimicrobial resistance using a large centralized laboratory database: Case study of Campylobacter and nontyphoidal Salmonella in Peru. International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, (170)

Oreso C, Ogwel B, Awuor AO, Anyango RO, Kotloff K, Hossain MJ, Badji H, Jere KC, Ndeketa L, Colston J, Villanueva KM, Qadri F, Islam MT, Qamar FN, Ahmed N, Rao SI, Pavlinac PB, Omore R. (2026). Frequency and correlates of non-receipt of age-appropriate vaccination among children aged 6-35 months with medically attended diarrhea: Findings from the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella study, 2022-2024. PLOS global public health, 6(7)

Fuller B, Ssekitoleko R, Kyozira C, Colston JM, Makumbi I, Bakainaga A, Moore CC, Kiirya HI. (2025). Comparison of ARIMA and FB-Prophet time series models for the prediction of national and regional malaria incidence in Uganda. Malaria journal, 24(1)

Colston JM, Flynn TG, Denton AH, Schiaffino F, Majowicz SE, Devleesschauwer B, Di Bari C, Minato Y, Kosek MN. (2025). Updating global estimates of pathogen-attributable diarrhoeal disease burden: a methodology and integrated protocol for a broad-scope systematic review of a syndrome with diverse infectious aetiologies. BMJ open, 15(4)

Curico G, Garcia Bardales PF, Pinedo Vasquez TN, Shapiama Lopez WV, Paredes Olórtegui M, Schiaffino F, Peñataro Yori P, Colston JM, Flynn TG, Meza Sánchez G, Silva Delgado H, Oberhelman RA, Kosek MN. (2024). Efficacy of Single-Dose Albendazole and Albendazole Plus Ivermectin for Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection in Children in the Peruvian Amazon. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

Colston JM, Fang B, Houpt E, Chernyavskiy P, Swarup S, Gardner LM, Nong MK, Badr HS, Zaitchik BF, Lakshmi V, Kosek MN. (2024). The Planetary Child Health & Enterics Observatory (Plan-EO): A protocol for an interdisciplinary research initiative and web-based dashboard for mapping enteric infectious diseases and their risk factors and interventions in LMICs. PloS one, 19(2)

Colston JM, Fang B, Nong MK, Chernyavskiy P, Annapareddy N, Lakshmi V, Kosek MN. (2024). Spatial variation in housing construction material in low- and middle-income countries: A Bayesian spatial prediction model of a key infectious diseases risk factor and social determinant of health. PLOS global public health, 4(12)

Flynn TG, Paredes Olortegui M, Garcia Bardales PF, Schiaffino F, Pinedo Vasquez TN, Shapiama López WV, Peñataro Yori P, Ramal Asayag CSJ, Meza Sánchez GR, Colston JM, Kosek MN. (2024). Epstein-Barr Virus in the RIVERA Case-Control Study of Acute Febrile Illness: Acute Mononucleosis Nearly Absent as an Etiology in the Peruvian Amazon. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

Olortegui MP, Schiaffino F, Peñataro Yori P, Colston JM, Shapiama Lopez V, Pinedo Vasquez T, Garcia Bardales PF, Flynn TG, Ramal-Asayag C, Hughes HR, Davis E, Russell BJ, Brault AC, Palomino YAA, Munayco C, Liu J, Houpt E, Cooper KK, Parker CT, Kosek MN. (2024). Genomic Epidemiology of 2023-2024 Oropouche Outbreak in Iquitos, Peru reveals independent origin from a concurrent outbreak in Brazil. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Brintz BJ, Colston JM, Ahmed SM, Chao DL, Zaitchik BF, Leung DT. (2024). Assessment and comparison of model estimated and directly observed weather data for prediction of diarrhoea aetiology. Epidemiology and infection, (152)

Schiaffino F, Colston JM, Paredes Olórtegui M, Peñataro Yori P, Mourkas E, Pascoe B, Lima AAM, Mason CJ, Ahmed T, Kang G, Mduma E, Samie A, Zaidi A, Liu J, Cooper KK, Houpt ER, Parker CT, Lee GO, Kosek MN. (2024). The epidemiology and impact of persistent Campylobacter infections on childhood growth among children 0-24 months of age in resource-limited settings. EClinicalMedicine, (76)

Manzanares Villanueva K, Pinedo Vasquez T, Peñataro Yori P, Romaina Cacique L, Garcia Bardales PF, Shapiama Lopez WV, Zegarra Paredes F, Perez KF, Rengifo Pinedo S, Silva Delgado H, Flynn T, Schiaffino F, Colston JM, Paredes Olortegui MP, Kosek MN. (2024). The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella Surveillance Study in Peru. Open forum infectious diseases, 11(Suppl 1)

Dodd R, Awuor AO, Garcia Bardales PF, Khanam F, Mategula D, Onwuchekwa U, Sarwar G, Yousafzai MT, Ahmed N, Atlas HE, Amirul Islam Bhuiyan M, Colston JM, Conteh B, Diawara M, Dilruba N, Elwood S, Fatima I, Feutz E, Galagan SR, Haque S, Taufiqul Islam M, Karim M, Keita B, Kosek MN, Kotloff KL, Lefu C, Mballow M, Ndalama M, Ndeketa L, Ogwel B, Okonji C, Paredes Olórtegui M, Pavlinac PB, Pinedo Vasquez T, Platts-Mills JA, Qadri F, Qureshi S, Rogawski McQuade ET, Sultana S, Traore MO, Cunliffe NA, Jahangir Hossain M, Omore R, Qamar FN, Tapia MD, Peñataro Yori P, Zaman K, McGrath CJ. (2024). Population Enumeration and Household Utilization Survey Methods in the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH): Shigella Surveillance Study. Open forum infectious diseases, 11(Suppl 1)

Colston JM, Chernyavskiy P, Gardner L, Fang B, Houpt E, Swarup S, Badr H, Zaitchik B, Lakshmi V, Kosek M. (2023). The Planetary Child Health and Enterics Observatory (Plan-EO): a Protocol for an Interdisciplinary Research Initiative and Web-Based Dashboard for Climate-Informed Mapping of Enteric Infectious Diseases and their Risk Factors and Interventions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Research square

Peñataro Yori P, Paredes Olórtegui M, Schiaffino F, Perez K, Curico Huansi G, Flynn T, Zhang J, Ramal Asayag C, Meza Sanchez G, Silva Delgado H, Casapia Morales M, Casanova W, Jiu B, Munayco Escate C, Silver R, Henao O, Cooper KK, Liu J, Houpt E, Kosek MN, Colston JM, Oberhelman R, Pinedo Vasquez T, Garcia Bardales PF, Shapiama Lopez WV, Zegarra Paredes LF. (2023). Etiology of Acute Febrile Illness in the Peruvian Amazon as determined by modular formatted quantitative PCR: A Protocol for RIVERA, a Health Facility-Based Case-Control Study. Research square

Colston JM. (2023). Elucidating the Impacts of Climate on Dengue Transmission Through Mathematical Models: New Evidence From a Recent Outbreak on the Island of Réunion. The Journal of infectious diseases

Badr HS, Colston JM, Nguyen NH, Chen YT, Burnett E, Ali SA, Rayamajhi A, Satter SM, Van Trang N, Eibach D, Krumkamp R, May J, Adegnika AA, Manouana GP, Kremsner PG, Chilengi R, Hatyoka L, Debes AK, Ateudjieu J, Faruque ASG, Hossain MJ, Kanungo S, Kotloff KL, Mandomando I, Nisar MI, Omore R, Sow SO, Zaidi AKM, Lambrecht N, Adu B, Page N, Platts-Mills JA, Mavacala Freitas C, Pelkonen T, Ashorn P, Maleta K, Ahmed T, Bessong P, Bhutta ZA, Mason C, Mduma E, Olortegui MP, Peñataro Yori P, Lima AAM, Kang G, Humphrey J, Ntozini R, Prendergast AJ, Okada K, Wongboot W, Langeland N, Moyo SJ, Gaensbauer J, Melgar M, Freeman M, Chard AN, Thongpaseuth V, Houpt E, Zaitchik BF, Kosek MN. (2023). Spatiotemporal variation in risk of Shigella infection in childhood: a global risk mapping and prediction model using individual participant data. The Lancet. Global health, 11(3)

Brintz BJ, Colston JM, Ahmed SM, Chao DL, Zaitschik B, Leung DT. (2023). Assessment of Model Estimated and Directly Observed Weather Data for Etiological Prediction of Diarrhea. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Peñataro Yori P, Paredes Olortegui M, Schiaffino F, Colston JM, Pinedo Vasquez T, Garcia Bardales PF, Shapiama Lopez V, Zegarra Paredes LF, Perez K, Curico G, Flynn T, Zhang J, Ramal Asayag C, Meza Sanchez G, Silva Delgado H, Casapia Morales M, Casanova W, Jiu B, Oberhelman R, Munayco Escate C, Silver R, Henao O, Cooper KK, Liu J, Houpt ER, Kosek MN. (2023). Etiology of acute febrile illness in the peruvian amazon as determined by modular formatted quantitative PCR: a protocol for RIVERA, a health facility-based case-control study. BMC public health, 23(1)

Badr HS, Zaitchik BF, Kerr GH, Nguyen NH, Chen YT, Hinson P, Colston JM, Kosek MN, Dong E, Du H, Marshall M, Nixon K, Mohegh A, Goldberg DL, Anenberg SC, Gardner LM. (2023). Unified real-time environmental-epidemiological data for multiscale modeling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific data, 10(1)

Kerr GH, Badr HS, Barbieri AF, Colston JM, Gardner LM, Kosek MN, Zaitchik BF. (2023). Evolving Drivers of Brazilian SARS-CoV-2 Transmission: A Spatiotemporally Disaggregated Time Series Analysis of Meteorology, Policy, and Human Mobility. GeoHealth, 7(3)

Colston J, Kosek M, Zaitchik B, Badr H. (2022). Spatiotemporal variation and environmental sensitivity of childhood enteric pathogen infection risk: a Planetary Health approach to predictive modelling and risk mapping. The Lancet. Planetary health, (6 Suppl 1)

Colston JM, Hinson P, Nguyen NH, Chen YT, Badr HS, Kerr GH, Gardner LM, Martin DN, Quispe AM, Schiaffino F, Kosek MN, Zaitchik BF. (2023). Effects of hydrometeorological and other factors on SARS-CoV-2 reproduction number in three contiguous countries of tropical Andean South America: a spatiotemporally disaggregated time series analysis. IJID regions, (6)

Schiaffino F, Colston JM, Paredes Olortegui M, Rengifo Pinedo S, Zamora Babilonia M, Ramal Asayag C, Peñataro Yori P, Kosek MN. (2022). Antibiotic Use and Stewardship Practices in a Pediatric Community-Based Cohort Study in Peru: Shorter Would be Sweeter. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America

Colston JM, Taniuchi M, Ahmed T, Ferdousi T, Kabir F, Mduma E, Nshama R, Iqbal NT, Haque R, Ahmed T, Ali Bhutta Z, Kosek MN, Platts-Mills JA. (2022). Intestinal Colonization With Bifidobacterium longum Subspecies Is Associated With Length at Birth, Exclusive Breastfeeding, and Decreased Risk of Enteric Virus Infections, but Not With Histo-Blood Group Antigens, Oral Vaccine Response or Later Growth in Three Birth Cohorts. Frontiers in pediatrics, (10)

Colston JM, Chen YT, Hinson P, Nguyen NH, Yori PP, Olortegui MP, Trigoso DR, Salas MS, Guerrant RL, François R, Kosek MN. (2022). Enteropathy Markers in Early Life Were Associated with Adipokine, Apolipoprotein, and Cytokine Profiles Consistent with an Adverse Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Profile Later in Childhood in a Peruvian Birth Cohort. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

Colston JM, Zaitchik BF, Badr HS, Burnett E, Ali SA, Rayamajhi A, Satter SM, Eibach D, Krumkamp R, May J, Chilengi R, Howard LM, Sow SO, Jahangir Hossain M, Saha D, Imran Nisar M, Zaidi AKM, Kanungo S, Mandomando I, Faruque ASG, Kotloff KL, Levine MM, Breiman RF, Omore R, Page N, Platts-Mills JA, Ashorn U, Fan YM, Shrestha PS, Ahmed T, Mduma E, Yori PP, Bhutta Z, Bessong P, Olortegui MP, Lima AAM, Kang G, Humphrey J, Prendergast AJ, Ntozini R, Okada K, Wongboot W, Gaensbauer J, Melgar MT, Pelkonen T, Freitas CM, Kosek MN. (2022). Associations Between Eight Earth Observation-Derived Climate Variables and Enteropathogen Infection: An Independent Participant Data Meta-Analysis of Surveillance Studies With Broad Spectrum Nucleic Acid Diagnostics. GeoHealth, 6(1)

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