Our Team

Cesc Bertran Cobo is a Health Data Scientist and Project Manager at ISGlobal. With a strong track record in international clinical research, their work sits at the intersection of infectious diseases, maternal and infant health, and child neurodevelopment. They hold a PhD in Paediatric Neurosciences from the University of Cape Town, a research MSc in Neurosciences from the University of Amsterdam, and a BSc from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

At ISGlobal, Bertran combines epidemiological and health data science approaches with hands-on project leadership to deliver high-quality, multi-site studies —from study coordination and data governance to analysis, reporting, and stakeholder engagement. In parallel, they contribute to academic teaching in HIV and malaria at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), helping train the next generation of global health professionals.

Lines of research

• Infectious diseases
• Maternal and child health
• HIV
• Malaria
• Dengue
• Fever in the returned child traveller

Main publications

• Bertran-Cobo C, Robertson FC, Kangwa, TS, et al. Maternal and child immune profiles are associated with neurometabolite measures of early-life neuroinflammation in children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected: a South African birth cohort. Wellcome Open Res (2025) 10:611. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.24911.1.
• Bertran-Cobo C, Dumont E, Noordin NR, et al. Plasmodium knowlesi Infection Is Associated With Elevated Circulating Biomarkers of Brain Injury and Endothelial Activation. J Infect Dis (2025) 231(5):e966-e975. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae553. 
• Wedderburn CJ, Weldon E, Bertran-Cobo C, et al. Early neurodevelopment of HIV-exposed uninfected children in the era of antiretroviral therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Child Adolesc Health (2022) 6(6):393-408. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00071-2.
• Fombah AE, Chen H, Owusu-Kyei K, et al. Coverage of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants after four years of implementation in Sierra Leone. Malar J (2023) 22(1):145. doi: 10.1186/s12936-023-04575-6. 
• Olcott F, Bertran-Cobo C, Sahu PK, et al. Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin as a Biomarker of Kidney Injury and Potential Predictor of Hypoxic Brain Injury in Severe Plasmodium falciparum Malaria: Insights From India. Semin Nephrol (2025) 45(3):151619. doi: 10.1016/j.semnephrol.2025.151619.