Projects

Project Description

Are you interested in improving child health in low-income communities? Would you like to gain experience with field based sampling, lab methods, data visualization, and data analysis in R? Then consider joining the Capone Lab! Unfortunatley, diarrhea remains a leading cause of child mortality and morbidity, with a dispraportionate burden of disease in low-income countries. Diarrheal disease is caused by enteric pathogens, which are transmitted through the environment in communities with poor sanitation. The role of insects (e.g., flies and cockroaches) in enteric pathogen transmission is poorly characterized. The student in this project will work with Dr. Capone to design a research study to advance our understanding of the role of insects in enteric pathogen transmission. The anticipated study will combine field based sampling and analysis with controlled laboratory experiments. The student will gain experience with study design, field based sampling, lab methods (e.g., culture for fecal indicator bacteria), data visualization, and data analysis in R. By better understanding the role of insects in enteric pathogen transmission, this crucial data can be used to design interventions capable of interrupting transmission and improving child health.

Technology or Computational Component

The student will gain experience with data visulation and data analysis in R. The student will learn about using R packages such as ggplot2 to create beautiful figures and using R to perform simple statistical analyses.