GESTAR II Seminar Series, Tuesday, October 28th, 1:00pm

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 16:38:21 -0400
gestar2

Join us for a virtual seminar by Dr. Assaf Anyamba, GESTAR II Senior Research Scientist, UMBC/610. His talk is titled "Global ENSO Teleconnections and Vector-borne Disease Outbreak Patterns."

Date and Time: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at 1:00pm EST

Join us via Teams.

Abstract:

"Over the last ~40 years, the proliferation and availability of satellite derived time series measurements of the biosphere and atmosphere have made it possible to apply these data to the study of ecologically coupled vector-borne diseases. This has been possible because the seasonality and interannual variability of variables such as rainfall, temperature, vegetation index, etc., define the phenological cycles of disease vectors such as mosquitoes, rodents, and agricultural pests (e.g., locusts). The boom and bust of particular diseases will often occur in tandem with persistent departures of rainfall, temperature, and vegetation land surface conditions creating conditions for the increase or decrease in the populations of disease vectors. We are applying a variety of NASA Earth Observations, model products and to map and predict regions of likely outbreaks of various diseases such as Rift Valley fever, chikungunya, dengue, etc. Such information is of importance for early warning in order to prevent, control, and reduce the impact of such disease threats of public health significance. This presentation will provide a global view of how the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - a natural climate pattern characterized by periodic fluctuations in sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean impacting global weather and climate patterns - has downstream consequences for various vector-borne disease outbreak patterns. In addition, I will provide a detailed case study of how ENSO teleconnection patterns influence outbreaks of Rift Valley fever and how we have exploited satellite derived climate data sets to design and build models to provide early warning in formation to various stakeholders."

Biography:
Dr. Assaf Anyamba is a Senior Research Scientist with Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II (GESTAR II), University of Maryland, Baltimore County and with Applied Sciences, Earth Science Division, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. His research interests are represented across ~100 interdisciplinary publications focusing on the extraction of interannual climate variability signals associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) from satellite land surface measurements, drought pattern analysis and early warning, and the applications of satellite data to global agricultural monitoring and ecologically coupled vector-borne diseases.

His research and applications have supported operational programs of various federal government agencies, including the Department of Defense – Defense Health Agency-Global Emerging Infections Surveillance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA Agricultural Research Service - Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Food and Drug Administration, and others. He has been involved in various cross-cutting forums, including National Academy of Sciences/National Academy of Medicine (NAM): Vector-borne Diseases, Human Health and Climate Change, The Brookings Institution and The Rockefeller Foundation 17 Rooms Initiative on Transforming National and Global Epidemic Intelligence Systems, World Organization for Animal Health/ Office International des Epizooties (WOAH), World Health Organization (WHO) - Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) on Rift Valley fever, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES), and others.

In addition, Dr. Anyamba's work has been featured in various media outlets, including National Public Radio's (NPR) Morning Edition and Science Friday, British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Science in Action, and Voice of America (VoA), and in the Netflix documentary Connected: Clouds, The Hidden Science of Everything, as well as in print. He currently serves on the editorial board of the AGU GeoHealth Journal. He has a B.A. (Geography and Economics, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya), M.A. (Geography, Ohio University, Athens, OH), and Ph.D. (Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MA).

For more information on the GESTAR II Seminar Series, click here.