Epidemiology and International Health Research Group (GRESI)

Our research focuses on infections associated with poverty that primarily affect vulnerable populations (children under five years of age) in low-income countries. One of the fundamental pillars of our work is combating the leading infectious causes of morbidity and mortality through the development of diagnostic and risk-stratification tools, as well as control strategies, including drugs for treatment and prevention, vector-control measures, and the clinical development of preventive vaccines.

The group's most advanced and well-established research line is malaria, pneumonia, meningitis and other invasive bacterial diseases, viral infections (including COVID-19), HIV/AIDS, causes of death and postmortem methods, use of biomarkers for triage and risk-stratification purposes, surveillance of infectious diseases, diagnostics, large-scale intervention trials, health impact assessment and microsimulation models of social packages and other health interventions, perinatal infections and sepsis, and reproductive health (HPV-associated and -independent anogenital neglected malignancies), among others. Our research always includes a translational component, aiming to achieve impact and practical utility in the short term for the most vulnerable populations.

The group offers a good combination of expertise in the different areas of the epidemiology, intervention studies of the infectious diseases and maternal and child health issues that it aims to cover.

There is a strong push in the new area of Improved triage and risk stratification of sick patients (Prognostic biomarkers), and the application of Artificial intelligence (AI) methods for infectious diseases in low-and middle-income countries, given that we have been able to secure a variety of funding support that will allow us to expand considerably our activities and consolidate these as new research lines. Also, there is maintained push on malaria research (particularly on clinical trials of new drugs and interventions for malaria (uncomplicated and severe), and the consolidation of the research area of mortality surveillance and cause of death methods.

The group includes several epidemiologists, clinicians (and in particular paediatricians, but also an obstetrician, highlighting the importance of our paediatric and perinatal involvement and research), data scientists, and social scientists to bring an additional perspective on community perceptions and acceptability and feasibility studies, as well as social determinants of health.