Sinead E. Morris

Influenza Modeling Consultant

Biography

I'm a self-employed modeling consultant supporting the Influenza Division at CDC and working on questions that integrate mathematical modeling with public health.

Interests

Mathematical modeling
Public Health
Epidemiology
Immunology & cross-scale dynamics

Education

PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2018

Princeton University
MA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2015

Princeton University
Msci in Mathematics, 2013

University of Glasgow

Skills

Math modeling

Data analysis

Software design

Experience

Consultant in Infectious Disease Modeling

Oct 2023 – Present Cambridge, United Kingdom

Risks of influenza disease and benefits of vaccination among pregnant people
Impacts of influenza antiviral treatment in reducing hospitalizations
Modeling for emergency preparedness and response activities

Prevention Effectiveness Fellow (Analytics and Modeling Track)

Influenza Division, CDC

Aug 2021 – Aug 2023 Atlanta, GA

Seasonal influenza transmission dynamics
Impacts of vaccines and other pharmaceutical interventions on influenza disease burden

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Columbia University

Jul 2018 – Aug 2021 New York, NY

Supervised by Prof. Andrew Yates

Projects included:

HIV dynamics in infants on antiretroviral treatment
Population dynamics of memory T cells
Modeling T cell responses to influenza infection

PhD student

Princeton University

Aug 2013 – Jun 2018 Princeton, NJ

Supervised by Prof. Bryan Grenfell

Projects included:

Within-host dynamics of measles
Spatial spread of seasonal influenza
Modeling an outbreak of dolphin morbillivirus (DMV)
Unravelling the impact of within-host immune responses on population dynamics

Recent publications

SE Morris, HQ Nguyen, CG Grijalva, KE Hanson, Y Zhu, JE Biddle, JK Meece, NB Halasa, JD Chappell, AM Mellis, C Reed, M Biggerstaff, EA Belongia, HK Talbot, MA Rolfes (2024). Influenza virus shedding and symptoms: Dynamics and implications from a multi-season household transmission study. PNAS Nexus.

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LYH Chan, SE Morris, MS Stockwell, NM Bowman, E Asturias, S Rao, K Lutrick, KD Ellingson, HQ Nguyen, Y Maldonado, SH McLaren,, E Sano, JE Biddle, SE Smith-Jeffcoat, M Biggerstaff, MA Rolfes, HK Talbot, CG Grijalva, RK Borchering, AM Mellis, RVTN-Sentinel Study Group (2024). Estimating the generation time for influenza transmission using household data in the United States. medrxiv.

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ME Bullock, T Hogan, C Williams, SE Morris, M Nowicka, M Sharjeel, C van Dorp, AJ Yates, B Seddon (2024). The dynamics and longevity of circulating CD4+ memory T cells depend on cell age and not the chronological age of the host. PLoS Biology.

PDF DOI

CM Saad-Roy, SE Morris, M Boots, RE Baker, BL Lewis, J Farrar, MV Marathe, AL Graham, SA Levin, CE Wagner, CJE Metcalf, BT Grenfell (2024). Impact of waning immunity against SARS-CoV-2 severity exacerbated by vaccine hesitancy. PLoS Computational Biology.

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