Colin J. Carlson, PhD
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The Carlson Lab
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The Carlson Lab
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About
Titles
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)
Biography
Dr. Carlson is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Yale University School of Public Health. His work explores the challenges faced by health systems in the Anthropocene, with a focus on how climate change increases risks from both infectious diseases of poverty and pandemic threats. His research also explores problems in global health governance, with several ongoing projects focused on the legal, political, and scientific determinants of outbreak reporting and scientific data sharing.
Dr. Carlson is also the co-founder and executive director of Verena, a cross-university collaboration of over a dozen early career scientists developing a data science-driven approach to assessing which viruses pose a risk to human health, and where, when, and why they might emerge in human populations. In 2019, Verena was selected as an NSF Biology Integration Institute, a five-year, $12.5m cooperative agreement that has supported a global study of bat immunology, a cohort of eight doctoral students at five universities, and new open platforms for data sharing.
Prior to joining Yale University, Dr. Carlson was research faculty at Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security, and earlier, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Socioenvironmental Synthesis Center at the University of Maryland. He has also contributed to reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California, Berkeley.
Appointments
Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
- Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD)
- Public Health Modeling
- Yale School of Public Health
- Yale School of Public Health - NEW
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Georgetown University (2020)
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- The National Socioenvironmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), University of Maryland College Park (2018)
- PhD
- University of California Berkeley, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (2017)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Public Health Interests
ORCID
0000-0001-6960-8434- View Lab Website
The Carlson Lab
Research at a Glance
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Climate Change
Global Health
Ecology
Machine Learning
Malaria
Anthrax
Publications
Featured Publications
Climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risk
Carlson C, Albery G, Merow C, Trisos C, Zipfel C, Eskew E, Olival K, Ross N, Bansal S. Climate change increases cross-species viral transmission risk. Nature 2022, 607: 555-562. PMID: 35483403, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04788-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsViral sharingRange shiftsRange shifts of speciesHuman population densityGeographic range shiftsUnique dispersal abilityLand-use scenariosShifts of speciesGlobal environmental changeGeographically isolated speciesBiodiversity surveysBiodiversity hotspotHolding warmingMammal speciesDispersal abilityLand-useLand usePotential hotspotsClimate-changePopulation densityCross-species transmissionPhylogeographic modelsEnvironmental changesEcological transitionVirus species
2024
Core components of infectious disease outbreak response
Moore M, Robertson H, Rosado D, Graeden E, Carlson C, Katz R. Core components of infectious disease outbreak response. SSM - Health Systems 2024, 3: 100030. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2024.100030.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricReconstructing 120 years of climate change impacts on Joshua tree flowering
Yoder J, Andrade A, DeFalco L, Esque T, Carlson C, Shryock D, Yeager R, Smith C. Reconstructing 120 years of climate change impacts on Joshua tree flowering. Ecology Letters 2024, 27: e14478. PMID: 39092581, DOI: 10.1111/ele.14478.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsClimate change impactsJoshua treesChange impactsMasting eventsWild populationsClimate change effectsDrought stressFlowering eventsTree flowersFlowersMojave DesertChange effectsAnnual precipitationIncreased variationWeather recordsNegative impactHistorical recordsTreesClimateSystematic datasetPerennialsBiodiversitySpeciesStrategic vaccine stockpiles for regional epidemics of emerging viruses: A geospatial modeling framework
Carlson C, Garnier R, Tiu A, Luby S, Bansal S. Strategic vaccine stockpiles for regional epidemics of emerging viruses: A geospatial modeling framework. Vaccine 2024, 42: 126051. PMID: 38902187, DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.06.019.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricSave lives in the next pandemic: ensure vaccine equity now.
Carlson C, Becker D, Happi C, O'Donoghue Z, de Oliveira T, Oyola SO, Poisot T, Seifert S, Phelan A. Save lives in the next pandemic: ensure vaccine equity now. Nature 2024, 626: 952-953. PMID: 38396080, DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-00545-3.Commentaries, Editorials and LettersAfter millions of preventable deaths, climate change must be treated like a health emergency
Carlson C. After millions of preventable deaths, climate change must be treated like a health emergency. Nature Medicine 2024, 30: 622-622. PMID: 38291300, DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02765-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
2023
The coevolutionary mosaic of bat betacoronavirus emergence risk
Forero-Muñoz N, Muylaert R, Seifert S, Albery G, Becker D, Carlson C, Poisot T. The coevolutionary mosaic of bat betacoronavirus emergence risk. Virus Evolution 2023, 10: vead079. PMID: 38361817, PMCID: PMC10868545, DOI: 10.1093/ve/vead079.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSpatially explicit frameworkGeographic mosaic theory of coevolutionHost richnessGeographies of riskExplicit frameworkGeographic mosaic theoryTheory of coevolutionGlobal biogeographySub-Saharan AfricaDisease emergencePathogen evolutionEvolutionary riskSub-SaharanViral emergenceMiddle EastHotspotsSoutheast AsiaTrends in mosquito species distribution modeling: insights for vector surveillance and disease control
Lippi C, Mundis S, Sippy R, Flenniken J, Chaudhary A, Hecht G, Carlson C, Ryan S. Trends in mosquito species distribution modeling: insights for vector surveillance and disease control. Parasites & Vectors 2023, 16: 302. PMID: 37641089, PMCID: PMC10463544, DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05912-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSpecies distribution modelsSpecies distribution modelling methodsSpecies distribution modelling literatureDisease vectorsDistribution modelMosquito-borne disease riskInfectious disease vectorsGlobal changeMosquito speciesSpeciesMethodological focusNorth AmericaOutbreak riskDisease riskGeographyMosquitoesModeling effortsRegional modelSystematic reviewEcologyOpen data for COVID-19 policy analysis and mapping
Katz R, Toole K, Robertson H, Case A, Kerr J, Robinson-Marshall S, Schermerhorn J, Orsborn S, Van Maele M, Zimmerman R, Stevens T, Phelan A, Carlson C, Graeden E. Open data for COVID-19 policy analysis and mapping. Scientific Data 2023, 10: 491. PMID: 37500627, PMCID: PMC10374886, DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02398-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPolicy analysisMap of policiesWhole-of-governmentPolitical sciencePolicy typesGovernance strategiesImplement policiesPolicy measuresPolicy textsPolicySocial distancing measuresGovernmentPandemic responseLegal epidemiologyCOVID-19 pandemicLocal areaCOVID-19Open dataData sourcesCountriesJurisdictionsEcological drivers of sustained enzootic yellow fever virus transmission in Brazil, 2017–2021
Silva N, Albery G, Arruda M, Oliveira G, Costa T, de Mello É, Moreira G, Reis E, da Silva S, Silva M, de Almeida M, Becker D, Carlson C, Vasilakis N, Hanley K, Drumond B. Ecological drivers of sustained enzootic yellow fever virus transmission in Brazil, 2017–2021. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2023, 17: e0011407. PMID: 37276217, PMCID: PMC10270639, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011407.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMinas Gerais StateYF virus infectionNon-human primatesYF virusHigher virus titersFree-living non-human primatesInfection intensityExposure to vectorsSylvatic yellow feverEnzootic cycleViral replication levelsHigh virus dosesNon-human primate infectionCarcassYellow feverSeasonVirus titersVirus doseVirus transmissionSoutheastern BrazilVirus infectionViral strainsInfection
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
activity International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC)
Public ServiceMemberDetailsMember, Parasite Specialist Group2023 - Presentactivity PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board
Advisory BoardsMemberDetailsSubcommittee on Global Health Security2024 - Presentactivity npj Climate Action
Journal ServiceEditorial Board MemberDetails2021 - Presentactivity Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Public ServiceAuthorDetailsContributing author, Sixth Assessment Report (WGII)2019 - 2022activity Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Public ServiceAuthorDetailsContributing author, Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration2016 - 2018
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350 George Street, Fl 3rd Floor, Rm 321
New Haven, CT 06511