Rebecca Clark is motivated by a life-long desire to reduce the global health burden by contributing research that can assist in the eradication of infectious diseases. She is studying for her PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. From Toronto, she completed her BSc with Honours at McMaster University in Biology and Mathematics with a minor in Statistics, followed by an MSc in Epidemiology with an Embedded Graduate Certificate in Communicable Diseases at the University of Alberta.
Rebecca’s research is focussed on tuberculosis (TB) vaccine modelling. Despite safe and effective treatment, TB disease was the leading cause of death from an infectious disease in 2018, causing more than 1.5 million deaths worldwide, with the greatest incidence of cases and deaths in low and middle-income countries. Only one TB vaccine is licenced at present, which offers variable long-term protection for at risk populations. New vaccine trials are underway and determining an appropriate strategy for delivering any new TB vaccine to key populations is important. Rebecca’s PhD thesis will be focussed on developing subnational and national mathematical models to compare the epidemiological impact of implementing various TB vaccine campaigns taking age and risk factors into account. Her results will inform health policy makers in the field when they develop vaccination strategies.
On her ultimate return to Canada, Rebecca intends to continue to help evaluate strategies for TB prevention, particularly working with First Nations and Inuit peoples where the incidence of TB is high compared to Canadian-born non-Indigenous people, as well as with recent immigrants. Her focussed vaccine modelling skills will be beneficial to help devise new vaccination strategies aimed at improving the quality of life for all Canadians and the global community.
Since her studies began, she has contributed to projects with the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, collaborating with research teams internationally and across the disciplines of epidemiology, health research, computer science, and economics. She is involved with the TB Modelling Group and the TB Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, helping to promote TB research to the wider community. She has first-authored a paper in The Lancet Oncology, with more papers in train.
