About the Epidemiology Group Committee

Barbara Rath MD PhD

Chair, Germany

Barbara A. Rath, MD PhD is a board-certified pediatric consultant and infectious disease specialist with 20 years’ experience in clinical trials, public health and virology in the US, Latin America and Europe. Dr. Rath is Research director at Marie et Louis Pasteur University in France and served as honorary professor at the University of Nottingham School of Medicine, UK until 2019.

Dr. Rath received her medical school education in Germany, the United States and Spain, and her doctoral degrees from the University of Basel, Switzerland and Marie et Louis Pasteur University, France. In addition to a post-doctoral fellowship at the Stanford Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine, she has received pediatric residency and infectious disease subspecialty training at Duke and Tulane Universities, USA. Recent research focuses on defining a precision medicine approach to managing pediatric patients with acute viral infections. In collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute, she developed innovative real-time surveillance programs for the monitoring of influenza-like illness and the immuno-safety of vaccines and antivirals in infants and children.

Dr. Rath is co-founder and chair of the Vaccine Safety Initiative, an international think tank and non-profit-organization focused on new avenues for the treatment, communication and prevention of infectious diseases. Her team developed and validated clinical and virologic endpoints for clinical trials and observational settings. The goal is to individualize the management of influenza and other respiratory viral infections though integration of infectious disease epidemiology with data standardization, mobile health, biomarker research and advanced diagnostic capabilities.

The Vaccine Safety Initiative, nominated for the EU Health Award in 2017, collaborates with patient organizations and innovators to develop multilingual chatbots, mobile apps and training programs such as SEKI. VIVI coordinates EU-funded projects such as ImmuHubs and MedLit, and contributes to RIVER-EU, Immunion and other international initiatives aiming to improve quality of care, disease prevention and medical literacy in isolated and medically underserved communities.

Balasubramani Goundappa PhD

Vice-chair, USA

Balasubramani Goundappa is a Research Professor of Epidemiology and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His work centers on statistical and epidemiological analysis of data from large, multicenter clinical trials. He develops study designs, guides data management and analysis, and creates efficient methodologies for epidemiological research addressing major public health challenges.

Much of his current work focuses on estimating influenza vaccine effectiveness and evaluating influenza vaccines. He also coordinates a multicenter trial investigating treatments for glaucoma and serves as co investigator for data management and analysis for the CDC’s US Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network. His collaborations extend across disciplines, including partnerships with Family Medicine investigators that have led to successful grants from Merck, Sanofi, and AstraZeneca. These projects support research on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza vaccine effectiveness, and human metapneumovirus (hMPV).

Through the US Flu VE Network, his findings have contributed to global influenza vaccine policy. Since joining the Epidemiology Data Center (EDC) in 2001, he has participated in numerous collaborative studies that have strengthened the impact of this work on public health. Over the past two decades, these efforts have resulted in 163 peer reviewed publications, reflecting his commitment to advancing epidemiological science.

Looking ahead, he aims to address emerging challenges in vaccine effectiveness, including waning immunity, the impact of mRNA vaccines, and the influence of viral evolution. He also plans to investigate treatment modalities in the COAST study related to Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT). A central part of his mission is mentoring the next generation of scientists by equipping them with advanced statistical skills, strong data interpretation abilities, and effective communication strategies to prepare them for leadership roles.

More detail can be read here.