M. Elizabeth Halloran, MD, MPH, DSc
Professor Emeritus, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Epidemiology Program
Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutch
Professor Emeritus, Biostatistics Program
Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutch
Member
Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center (TDS IRC), Fred Hutch
Dr. Elizabeth "Betz" Halloran is a world leader in using mathematical and statistical methods to study infectious diseases and a pioneer in the design and analysis of vaccine studies. Her work is used to develop strategies to stop outbreaks of serious global threats such as Zika virus disease, Ebola virus disease, influenza, COVID-19, cholera and dengue fever.
Dr. Halloran was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019 for pioneering the development of statistical methods and modeling for evaluating vaccines in populations, and contributions to evaluating direct and indirect effects of vaccines and improving design and analysis of vaccine studies.
Other Appointments & Affiliations
Professor Emerita, Department of Biostatistics and Department of Epidemiology, University of WashingtonProfessor Emerita, Department of Biostatistics and Department of Epidemiology
University of Washington
Adjunct Professor Emerita, Department of Applied Mathematics
University of Washington
Director and Founder, Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases (SISMID), 2009-2023, Department of Biostatistics
University of Washington
Member
National Academy of Medicine
Education
Harvard University, Population Sciences, 1989, DSc
Harvard University, Tropical Public Health, 1985, MPH
Freie Universitat Berlin, 1983, MD
University of Oregon, 1972, BSc (General Science)
Research Interests
Design and analysis of vaccine field trials to evaluate population-level effects of vaccines
Modeling infectious disease dynamics and strategies for mitigation and control
Causal inference with interference in infectious diseases
Current Projects
2020-2025
Project Title: Quantifying the Epidemiological Impact of Targeted Indoor Residual Spraying on Aedes-borne Diseases (TIRS) in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Source of Support: NIH/NIAID (P.I. Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec)
Grant Type: U01 AI148069
Role Consultant
Goal: We conducted a two-arm, parallel, unblinded, cluster randomized controlled trial to quantify the overall efficacy of TIRS in reducing the burden of laboratory-confirmed arbovirus (ABV) clinical disease (primary endpoint). The trial was conducted in the city of Mérida, Yucatán State, Mexico for three transmission seasons 2021 – 2023. 2023-2028
2023-2028
Project Title: EPISTORM – Center for Advanced Epidemic Analytics and Predictive Modeling Technology
Source of Support: CDC Insight Net (P.I. Alessandro Vespignani, Northeastern University)
Grant Type: 1NU38FT00013
Role: Consultant
Goal: Our proposed application will develop innovative methodologies to integrate advanced statistical and analytical frameworks and machine intelligence with mechanistic modeling techniques, identifying new approaches that improve local, state, and regional forecasting and modeling capabilities and analytics tools.