Biography
Dr. Parker is an associate professor in the Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention. He has a courtesy appointment in Epidemiology & Biostatistics. He is also the director of GHREAT (Global Health Research, Education, and Translation), which is a global health initiative within the Program in Public Health. As a medical geographer and spatial epidemiologist, his largest research interests are in ecological and environmental drivers of infectious diseases; the roles of human movement or travel patterns on infectious diseases; and on the spatial impacts of interventions.
Research Interests
Spatial epidemiology of infectious diseases; spatial demography, especially in neglected populations and conflict zones; environmental correlates of vector borne diseases and access to healthcare; and access to healthcare especially in neglected and atypical populations.
Current Projects/Studies
- The ecology of vector-borne diseases in Ethiopia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar
- The ecology of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Southern California
- Access to healthcare in Cote d’Ivoire
- The impact of conflict on infectious disease epidemiology, especially in Northern Syria and Yemen
Education
- BA in Anthropology (certificate in Medical Anthropology and Global Health) from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 2009
- Dual PhD in Anthropology and Demography from The Pennsylvania State University in 2014
- Postdoctoral researcher at Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, a field station of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, from 2014 – 2017
Honors and Awards
- Chartered Geographer and Fellow, Royal Geographical Society, London, U.K.
Publications
Landier J., Parker D.M., Thu A.M., Lwin K.M., Delmas G., Nosten F., the Malaria Elimination Task Force Group (2018). Effect of generalized access to early diagnosis and treatment and targeted mass drug administration on Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Eastern Myanmar: an observational study of a regional elimination programme. The Lancet, 391: 1916 – 1926. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30792-X
Parker D.M., Tun S.T.T., White L.J., Kajeechiwa L., Thwin M.M., Landier J., Chaumeau V., Corbel V., Dondorp A.M., von Seidlein L., White N.J., Maude R.J., Nosten F. (2019). Potential herd protection against Plasmodium falciparum infections conferred by mass antimalarial drug administrations. eLife. 8: e41023. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.41023
Steinbrook E.; Min M.C.; Kajeechiwa L.; Wiladphaingern J.; Paw M.K.; Pimanpanarak M.; Hiranloetthanyakit W.; Min A.M.; Tun N.W.; Gilder M.E.; Nosten F.; McGready R., +Parker D.M. (2021). Distance matters: barriers to antenatal care and safe childbirth in a migrant population on the Thailand-Myanmar border from 2007-2015, a pregnancy cohort study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 21: 802 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-04276-5
Bohl J.A., Lay S., Chea S., Ahyong V., Parker D.M., Gallagher S., Fintzi J., Man S., Ponce A., Sreng S., Kong D., Oliveira F., Kalantar K., Tan M., Fahsbender L., Sheu J., Neff N., Detweiler A.M., Yek C., Ly S., Sath R., Huch C., Kry H., Leang R., Huy R., Lon C., Tato C.M., DeRisi J.L., Manning J.E. Discovering disease-causing pathogens in resource-scarce Southeast Asia using a global metagenomic pathogen monitoring system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119(11): e2115285119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115285119
Saita S., Roobsoong W., Khammaneechan P., Sukchan P., Lawpoolsri S., Sattabongkot J., Cui L., Okanurak K., Phuanukoonnon S., Parker D.M. (2022). Community acceptability, participation, and adherence to mass drug administration with primaquine for Plasmodium vivax elimination in Southern Thailand: a mixed methods approach. Malaria Journal. 22, 17 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-023-04443-3
Parker D.M., Medina C., Bohl J., Lon C., Chea S., Lay S., Kong D., Nhek S., Man S., Doehl J.S.P., Leang R., Kry H., Rekol H., Oliveira F., Minin V.M., Manning J.E. (2023). Determinants of exposure to Aedes mosquitoes: A comprehensive geospatial analysis in peri-urban Cambodia. Acta Tropica. 239, 2023, 106829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106829
Tarnas M.C., Al-Dheeb N., Zaman M.H., Parker D.M. Association between air raids and reported incidence of cholera in Yemen, 2016–19: an ecological modelling study. The Lancet Global Health. 11, 12(2023). Pages e1955-e1963. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00272-3
Tun S.T.T., Min M.C., Aguas R., Fornace K., Htoo G.N., White L.J., Parker D.M. (2023). Human movement patterns of farmers and forest workers from the Thailand-Myanmar border. Wellcome Open Research. 6:148. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16784.2
