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Halloran
M. Elizabeth Halloran, MD, MPH, DSc

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
  • Professor 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
206.667.2722
206.667.4378

Background

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.

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. 

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Stories

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Dr. Elizabeth Halloran, expert in vaccine trial design and quantitative methods for infectious diseases, transitions to emerita Infectious disease modeling pioneer helped outline modern precepts for design and analysis of vaccine trials, causal inference with interference; shaped a generation of infectious disease scientists January 30, 2026
Starting the year smarter How patients, providers, researchers and others stay informed amid a deluge of data and information January 8, 2025
Latest Fred Hutch research on COVID-19 How Hutch scientists have been tackling coronavirus in lab and clinic June 30, 2022